Lady Gaga says that if you want to help Japan recover from its tsunami disaster, come visit. The flamboyant pop star was in Tokyo for a benefit concert for tsunami victims, and said in an interview with The Associated Press that she’s making a point to get out and enjoy the city and its food, and that her fans should do the same thing.
“I can’t say enough to people all over the world that the majority of Japan right now, Japan in general, is very safe,” she said. “It’s fine to come here. It’s beautiful. The most important thing, and the best thing, we could do for Japan right now is to boost tourism, and so everyone come to Japan and come enjoy the beautiful country,” she said.
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| Lady Gaga poses for photographers with a tea cup with a message in Japanese "Pray for Japan" during a press conference to promote of MTV Video Music Aid Japan in Tokyo. Lady Gaga said that she will sell the tea cup at auction and donate the money for the tsunami-hit north-eastern Japan. ~ Associated Press |
A recent story by Lonley Planet on the current state of tourism in Japan had the following to say:
Earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear radiation: could anything make Japan a more unappealing destination? After the devastating 9.0 quake of 11 March that left about 26,000 people dead, and the horrendous coastal destruction in the northern part of the archipelago, the Japanese have had to cope with the threat of fallout from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Japan suffered a 50% drop in visitors in March, and half a million hotel cancellations. But radiation fears have eased substantially since explosions first rocked the plant. Aftershocks have subsided too. The US government, drawing on the opinion of experts, says travel to Japan outside the 50-mile zone surrounding the Fukushima plant presents low risks. However, those worried about radiation levels can check those of Tokyo online and compare them with other cities (the Japan National Tourism Agency has a list here).).
There is a growing consensus that it’s safe to travel to Tokyo (many of the other major cities in Japan – Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto– are not really affected). Foreign governments have eased their travel restrictions and Japan’s capital is slowly getting back on its feet, with Tokyo Disneyland reopening in April to a queue of 10,000 after liquefaction of its parking lot and electricity shortages.
Tourism will be an important part of Japan’s recovery and a way to strengthen the country’s economy, just as tourism was for New Orleans’ recovery following Hurricane Katrina and the Levies breaking.
Myself, I took the opportunity to Travel to New Orleans in March of 2008. That particular destination was actually an added bonus, as the original reason for the holiday had been to take a Caribbean cruise. But when I saw that one of the possible embarkation port options was ‘Nola’, I couldn't pass up the chance to visit. So I booked a 7-day Central American/Mexican cruise and then spent 4 days in New Orleans afterwards. It wasn't too long after Katrina & the Levies breaking, so the prices were still low, and just as Japan does now, the city really needed the tourism. I’m glad I didn’t listen to all of the negative hype I was hearing about how the city was “still in ruin” and that the “crime rate is through the roof” and “it’s just not safe to go there”. One of my favourite memories is trying to peer down one of these looooong walkways that separate the houses in the French Quarter…one gets the feeling that there are amazing yards back there, but they are completely hidden, so mostly you stand near the gates listening to hear tell-tale sounds of running water or wind chimes, to help you imagine what the yards might look like...but the people there were so incredibly friendly and happy to see tourists returning to their town (which by the way, showed no sign of any damage or the haenous crime etc that we had heard so much about) that they invited us into their homes off the street so we could see the architecture and the elusive 'hidden yards'. One guy even called his neighbours across the street to see if he could bring us over to their place so we could see the difference between a renovated yard and an original one with ivy growing up the stone walls. All that was asked of us in return was to tell people it’s OK to come to New Orleans.
Hey Everybody! It’s OK to go to New Orleans. In fact, it’s fack-wagging fantastic to go to New Orleans. You should book it. J
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