Japan Has Tough Road Ahead to Achieve 60-M.-Visitor Goal

Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto/Sapporo, Jan. 21 (Jiji Press)–Japan still needs to overcome mounting challenges to achieving its goal of 60 million annual visitors by 2030, although the number of inbound tourists topped 40 million for the first time ever last year with their consumption growing to around 9.5 trillion yen. Worsening Tokyo-Beijing relations in the wake of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “Taiwan contingency” remarks and overtourism are particularly clouding the outlook for the domestic tourism industry, which relies heavily on travelers from abroad. In its harsh reaction to Takaichi’s hawkish parliamentary remarks, the Chinese government is curbing travel to Japan chiefly from mainland China. According to Kansai Airports, the operator of Kansai International Airport and other airports in the western prefectures of Osaka and Hyogo, the number of passengers on flights to and from China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau, last month tumbled about 40 pct from a year earlier. Against this background, tax-free sales to Chinese tourists dropped as much at department store operator Takashimaya Co.’s outlet in the city of Osaka. In Sapporo, the capital of the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, roughly 30 pct of hotels and Japanese inns have already suffered the fallout from the travel curb, a local industry association’s survey showed. Tourists from Taiwan and South Korea are increasing. “Still, many member businesses are worried about prolonged adverse effects” ahead of the Sapporo Snow Festival in early February and the Chinese New Year holiday later the same month, an official at the Sapporo Hotel Ryokan Association said. To cope with the declining Japan trip demand in China, an executive of a major hotel operator underscored the importance of attracting guests from various parts of the world. As a measure to alleviate tourist overcrowding, the Kyoto City Tourism Association’s marketing official calls for assistance to areas off the beaten track in economically benefitting from inbound tourism. Echoing the view, Makoto Yonekawa of Nomura Real Estate Solutions Co.’s research and consulting division proposes to disperse tourists by discovering the charms of less exposed areas. “It’s necessary to create a sustainable tourism model that provides satisfaction to tourists without harming local residents’ quality of life,” Yonekawa added. Some local governments are increasing their accommodation taxes to fund programs to tackle issues caused by flooding foreign visitors. Among them, the Osaka prefectural government plans to raise 1 billion yen through its tax hike to clean up littered streets in the prefectural capital’s Minami shopping and entertainment area in fiscal 2026 starting April. The Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other members of the local business community are also trying to decentralize visitors. “However, I feel like nothing is going smoothly,” an Osaka economic organization official said. “We are facing mounting tasks, such as setting up multilingual signs and training Japanese workers to deal with foreign customers.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]