Featured Image Credit: NDTV
Topics: Baba Vanga, Japan, Travel
Callum Jones
A prediction of an imminent disaster made by the 'new Baba Vanga' has meant tourism in a certain part of the world has been greatly impacted.
Baba Vanga, a Bulgarian woman named Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova, was known for allegedly predicting a thing or two correctly in her lifetime.
It’s widely reported that Vanga supposedly predicted the death of Princess Diana in 1997 and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, among many other things.
Vanga died in 1996, but a new soothsayer from Japan now appears to have similar eerie predictions.
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Fortune teller and former manga artist Ryo Tatsuki has said her predictions come to her in vivid dreams, which she claims she's been experiencing since the 1980s.
It's thought that one of Tatuski's most accurate predictions to date was a major disaster in March 2011, the date remarkably being the same time Japan was hit by a cataclysmic quake and tsunami in northern Tohoku region.
Over 18,000 people lost their lives as a result of the tragedy.
Since then, Tatsuki has issued a concerning warning for an event that could occur later on in July, the fifth of the month to be exact.
She is predicting the ocean is 'boiling' south of Japan, which could spell disaster for the country.
Many are interpreting the dream as an undersea volcanic eruption which would be powerful enough to trigger a so-called 'mega tsunami'.
Tatsuki is predicting the tsunami will have a gigantic impact zone, enough to cause devastation over Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
The wild prediction has had a major impact on tourism in Japan, with Japanese cities such as Kagoshima and Kumamoto being hit hardest.
Speaking to CNN, CN Yuen, managing director of WWPKG, a travel agency based in Hong Kong, explained that bookings to Japan dropped by 50 percent over Easter, and figures have continued to be low since.
And the Chinese embassy in Tokyo issuing a warning about natural disasters in Japan earlier this year has also added fuel to the fire.
A 50 percent decline for flights to Japan between late June and early July has also been recorded, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
Amid fears of a megaquake hitting southern Japan, Hong Kong Airlines has seen a decline in flight sales.
As a result, the carrier will reportedly cut flights to Kagoshima and Kumamoto for the months of July and August, according to a report 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 said.
The airline say affected passengers can rebook for alternative destinations, such as other cities in Japan and China.
But those fancying something completely different can head to the likes of Da Nang in Vietnam, Thailand's capital Bangkok, or even Taipei, the capital of Taiwan.
Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai has dismissed the claims made by Tatsuki in the comic The Future I Saw back in 1999, a book based on some of her wildest dreams.
"It’s a serious issue when unscientific claims spread on social media and impact tourism," the governor said in a press conference back in April.
“Japanese people aren’t fleeing the country, so I want to reassure everyone to please visit Japan with peace of mind.”