Beijing Olympics Not A Tourist Draw For Japan

[Mulboyne]

BusinessWeek: Beijing Olympics - Where Are the Japanese Tourists?
Olympic excitement in Japan is high as the country's team tries to match its record gold-medal haul of 16 in Athens four years ago. With the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics just days away, you would expect flights to China to be chock-full of Japanese sports aficionados...But the Olympics are turning out to be a big letdown for Japan's tourist industry. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines are expecting to fill fewer seats on flights to China this summer. ANA Sales, a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways, predicts a 10% decline in the number of travelers compared with last year, while JAL anticipates a sharper 20% drop. "We expected the Beijing Olympics would offer a good business opportunity for us," says Shunsuke Narizumi, overseas travel division manager at Nippon Travel Agency, "but things have been disappointing...What's keeping the Japanese away? Some blame the repercussions of a series of negative news stories about China...more...

[kamome]

Maybe fears of a terrorist attack at the Games is keeping the tourists away.

[Greji]

Maybe fears of a terrorist attack at the Games is keeping the tourists away.

Or fears of Japanese tourists at the Games are keeping terroists away?

BTW Bird, clean out your bloody PM box. I sent you the answer on your question and it bounced saying you got too many moldy PMs stacked up.....