A foreboding prediction from a figure likened to the renowned ‘Baba Vanga’ has significantly affected tourism in a particular global region. Baba Vanga, whose real name was Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova, hailed from Bulgaria and gained notoriety for supposedly foreseeing various significant events in her lifetime.
It is widely believed that Vanga accurately anticipated the tragic death of Princess Diana in 1997 and the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, among other events. Although Vanga passed away in 1996, a contemporary seer from Japan now presents similarly unsettling forecasts.
The Japanese fortune teller and former manga artist, Ryo Tatsuki, claims her visions come to her in vivid dreams, a phenomenon she’s experienced since the 1980s. One of Tatsuki’s seemingly precise predictions was about a major disaster in March 2011, coincidentally aligning with the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan’s northern Tohoku region, claiming over 18,000 lives.
Tatsuki has since issued a startling warning regarding a potential event slated for July 5th. She envisages the ocean ‘boiling’ south of Japan, potentially indicating a disaster for the region. The vision is interpreted by many as a possible undersea volcanic eruption capable of triggering a ‘mega tsunami’.
This predicted tsunami is expected to cover a vast area, potentially impacting Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Consequently, the prediction has severely affected Japan’s tourism sector, particularly in cities like Kagoshima and Kumamoto.
In an interview with CNN, CN Yuen, the managing director of WWPKG—a Hong Kong-based travel agency—stated that bookings to Japan decreased by 50 percent over Easter and have remained low since. Additional concerns arose when the Chinese embassy in Tokyo issued a warning about potential natural disasters in Japan earlier in the year.
Bloomberg Intelligence has recorded a 50 percent decrease in flights to Japan from late June to early July. Amid fears of a massive earthquake in southern Japan, Hong Kong Airlines has experienced a drop in flight sales. Consequently, the airline is expected to reduce flights to Kagoshima and Kumamoto during July and August, as reported by news.com.au.
“We deeply apologise for the inconvenience caused by this flight adjustment and promise to do our best to assist affected passengers and provide proper travel arrangements,” Hong Kong Airlines stated.
The airline is offering affected passengers the option to rebook for other destinations, including various cities in Japan and China. Alternatively, travelers might consider visiting places like Da Nang in Vietnam, Bangkok in Thailand, or Taipei in Taiwan.
Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai has dismissed Tatsuki’s predictions, originally published in the comic book “The Future I Saw” back in 1999, which was based on some of her extraordinary dreams. “It’s a serious issue when unscientific claims spread on social media and impact tourism,” the governor remarked during a press conference in April. “Japanese people aren’t fleeing the country, so I want to reassure everyone to please visit Japan with peace of mind.”