Free Trip to Japan Anyone?

How about this use of social media to win back travelers to Japan? Japan’s Tourism Agency is asking for a billion yen to pay for the airfare of bloggers and social media influencers to visit the land of the rising sun beset by problem after problem.

To qualify, you have to outline your travel plans and what you hope to get out of your (free) trip. You still have to pay for lodging and food, and of course, you need to document your experiences online.

This, indeed, is an interesting proposition, but the Yahoo article doesn’t make it very appealing saying this:

The number of foreign visitors to Japan has dropped drastically, since a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Power plant in March. Nearly 20,000 people have been confirmed dead, while more than 80,000 remain displaced because of radiation concerns.

Umm, yeah, that’s definitely a killjoy. You going?