Sicily and Japan to subsidize trips

• The Italian island of Sicily revealed that, once travel restrictions in Italy are lifted, the Sicilian government will encourage travel to the island by paying for 50% of the cost of plane tickets and for one of every three hotel nights for foreign visitors in 2020. Vouchers for free museum visits and events will also be available.

According to Visit Sicily, the national tourism department, the offer will be available on its website, www.visitsicily.info, once Italy is completely open to foreign travelers again. At press time, Italy expected to partially reopen to European travelers on June 3.

• The Japan National Tourism Organization announced on May 26 that it had set aside more than $19.5 billion to partially pay for the travel expenses of foreigners traveling there in 2020. At press time, details of the program were not available, but, once travelers can begin applying, information will be found on www.japan.travel. Japan had not scheduled a date for reopening its borders to foreign travelers.

** Please see correction regarding this article