Visiting Japan? Fly across island nation free of cost

In a move to boost tourism and make tourists explore less popular locations in the country, the Japan Airlines (JAL) has launched a programme that offers free domestic flights for foreign visitors

Hyderabad: While many popular tourist destinations like Bali, Italy and Spain are facing difficulties to cope with huge tourist inflows, Japan on the other hand, is eager to welcome them.

In a move to boost tourism and make tourists explore less popular locations in the country, the Japan Airlines (JAL) has launched a scheme that offers free domestic flights for foreign visitors.
International visitors can book domestic flights at no additional cost. This can be done while buying round-trip international ticket to Japan.

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As of now, the offer is available for tourists from Canada, the United States, Mexico, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, China and Taiwan.
The Japan Airlines says it might expand the list in the future.

To take advantage of this offer, travelers must first book their international round-trip flight to Japan with Japan Airlines. Once the international booking is confirmed, they can add domestic flights to select cities within Japan at no extra charge.

For example if a tourist books ticket from India to Tokyo, he will then be able to book another domestic flight ticket from Tokyo to Osaka free of cost. However, it might be noted that a $100 or 300 yen stopover fee would be applied if visitors don’t move on from major hubs within 24 hours.

While people from all over the world have expressed their happiness over the new initiative, experts say this move might overstimulate the tourism in the island nation.