The Board of Audit of Japan reported the financial results of the government’s travel demand-stimulation measures.
The Prefectural Discounts and National Travel Support, which were initiated to support the tourism industry and related sectors severely impacted by COVID-19, were funded by approximately 1,119.3 billion yen. Of this, about 301.6 billion yen was allocated to Prefectural Discounts and 689 billion yen to National Travel Support, with around 128.5 billion yen remaining unspent. Furthermore, for group travel frameworks intended to boost demand for chartered bus group trips, a surplus of approximately 72.4 billion yen was noted across 40 prefectures.
Additionally, due to the Japan Tourism Agency’s mid-project implementation of prioritizing electronic coupons, a surplus of paper coupons was also observed. In some prefectures, documentation verifying travelers’ residences or vaccination status was not maintained.
The Japan Tourism Agency did not retain documents concerning the calculation methods for the notified grant limits to the prefectures, making it impossible for the Board of Audit to verify the validity of the grant limits.
The Board of Audit called for the proper preservation of critical documents and the ability to adequately explain the validity of grant limits based on accurate documentation. It also emphasized setting budgets for specific purposes based on rational criteria and ensuring thorough communication when issuing office notices.
The Go To Travel campaign began on July 22, 2020, was temporarily suspended, and resumed on December 28. From April 1, 2021, it transitioned to Prefectural Discounts, with each prefecture designing its own systems, and became National Travel Support on October 11, 2022. The initiative concluded in December 2023, with the audit covering the period from April 2021 to December 2023.
Notice
This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
