You probably heard that Japan will be kicking off a “Sayonara Tax” beginning in January 2019.
With the increase of tourism in Japan (28.69 million international tourists in 2017) and Japan ranked #4 out of 141 countries in the “Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017”, (behind Spain, France and Germany), Japan saw this as an opportunity to capitalize to boost tourism infrastructure and promote travel destinations in rural Japan as well as fund global tourism campaigns.
Beginning on January 7, 2019, a new tax will be added to airfare and shipfare for both Japanese and foreign travelers leaving the country by plane and ship. The sayonara tax (or departure tax) is Y1000 (about $9 in US dollars). Toddlers under the age of two and transit passengers leaving Japan within 24 hours of arrival are exempted from the tax.
Tokyo estimates that revenue from the new tax will reach six billion yen and plans to allocate part of it for the installation of gates equipped with facial recognition.
