Inbound tourism to Japan has returned to pre-pandemic levels, leaving the country facing new challenges. Now local authorities will have to, following Europe, solve problems caused by too much tourist flow. What thoughts do the Japanese tourism authorities have on this matter?
Expand the transport network and increase fares
The Japanese Ministry of Tourism has unveiled a “plan to combat tourists,” or rather, their oversupply.
Priority measures writes The Japan Times, will be aimed at strengthening transport infrastructure, especially in terms of increasing the fleet of buses and taxis. This is necessary to comfortably receive tourists in popular cities such as Osaka and Tokyo.
In some tourist locations, it is proposed to level out seasonal peaks in transport load. For example, Niseko in Hokkaido, uses more taxis during the ski season.
Especially for tourists, it is proposed to organize direct bus routes to popular tourist destinations from major stations.
But another proposal would be to change fares based on time to encourage off-peak travel.
Tourists are encouraged to travel more actively to the regions of Japan
The ministry also stressed that it is important to redirect tourists from major centers such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto to lesser-known areas of the country to reduce the concentration of travelers.
The plan details the efforts of 11 “model” tourism destinations – places such as Ise-Shima in Mie Prefecture and eastern Hokkaido. They were selected earlier this year as locations where visitors can enjoy nature and unique attractions that cannot be found in big cities.
The ministry plans to support municipalities in promoting specific types of leisure activities – such as adventure tourism in untouched natural areas or overnight stays in historical villages.
Selected free attractions
It is also planned to apply financial measures: for example, from October 1, visitors to the temple on the island of Miyajima will be charged a fee of 100 yen.
“We have a responsibility to preserve nature, history, and culture and pass them on to future generations,” said Shunji Mukai, a spokesman for the Miyajima City Planning and Coordination Department.
To be fair, Japan is not the only country struggling with overtourism. We wrote earlier that a similar problem exists in the Balearic Islands and continental Europe.