Thu Sep 19 07:33:25 UTC 2024: ## Japan Airlines Offers Free Domestic Flights to Combat Overtourism and Promote Off-the-Beaten-Path Travel

**Tokyo, Japan** – In an effort to combat overtourism in popular destinations and encourage travelers to explore Japan’s diverse cultural heritage, Japan Airlines (JAL) has launched a program offering complimentary domestic flights across the archipelago.

The initiative comes as some areas of Japan, like Shibuya’s scramble crossing and Mount Fuji viewing spots, experience overwhelming tourist crowds, while other regions remain relatively unexplored. By encouraging visitors to venture beyond popular tourist destinations, JAL hopes to distribute tourist numbers more evenly across the country’s thousands of islands.

The complimentary flight offer is currently available to passengers departing from the US, Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. Travelers from Vietnam and the Philippines can book from September 25th, and those from Indonesia, India, China, and Taiwan can book from September 27th.

To qualify for the offer, travelers must book an international ticket to Japan with JAL and a corresponding domestic flight within the same reservation. A stopover fee of $100 applies to travelers from the US, Canada, Mexico, and China if they stay in their first destination in Japan for over 24 hours. Passengers from other countries will not be charged for the domestic segments.

JAL recommends several domestic destinations including Hokkaido, known for its national parks and ski resorts, and Wakayama, home to the temple enclave of Koyasan and Japan’s tallest waterfall, Nachi Falls. To ensure a seamless journey to these remote areas, JAL offers a generous free luggage allowance of 23kg across two bags.

This initiative is likely an attempt to get travelers arriving in Tokyo out of the capital and into the natural beauty of other regions as quickly as possible. The program aims to provide visitors with an enriching experience while also contributing to the sustainability of Japan’s tourism industry.

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