European Knight
05-28-2015, 07:16 PM
Japan to ASEAN: Tourists Yes, Terrorists No | The Diplomat (http://thediplomat.com/2015/03/japan-to-asean-tourists-yes-terrorists-no/)
The country is welcoming Muslim tourists from Southeast Asia, but worries about the threat of terrorism.
In 2012, when territorial tensions flared up between Japan and China, the Japanese tourism industry suffered such a drastic drop in the number of free-spending Chinese tourists that it had to start exploring new markets. Among them, the economically booming Southeast Asia.
It was then that many in Japan “discovered” that a sizable share of tourists coming from this region were Muslims whose special needs required arrangements different from other visitors to which the Japanese had become accustomed.
The country is welcoming Muslim tourists from Southeast Asia, but worries about the threat of terrorism.
In 2012, when territorial tensions flared up between Japan and China, the Japanese tourism industry suffered such a drastic drop in the number of free-spending Chinese tourists that it had to start exploring new markets. Among them, the economically booming Southeast Asia.
It was then that many in Japan “discovered” that a sizable share of tourists coming from this region were Muslims whose special needs required arrangements different from other visitors to which the Japanese had become accustomed.