Attracting More Tourists To Japan

Above, the Wako Department Store in Ginza, Tokyo.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Daily Yomiuri has posted an editorial on beefing up tourism to Japan:

Brainstorm to attract more tourists to Japan

In the editorial they wrote:

We hope the government and the private sector will make concerted efforts to convey to the world the appeal of Japan as a tourist destination. 

For the first time in five years, the government has developed a new master plan to boost the nation's tourism. The new Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan contains various policy targets to be achieved over five years from fiscal 2012. 

The number of foreign visitors to Japan--both tourists and businesspeople--reached a record 8.61 million in 2010, but the number plummeted to 6.22 million in 2011 due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. 

The numbers are alarming--the 2010 figure only ranked 30th in the world. In Asia, Japan lags far behind China, which recorded 55.66 million tourists in 2010, the third-largest number in the world. Japan also trails such countries as Singapore and South Korea.

The comparison of numbers between tourists to China and Japan are indeed "alarming."  After all, Japan is a first-world constitutional monarchy, whereas, China is still a communist dictatorship.  It is also hard to fathom why Japan also lags behind Singapore and South Korea in foreign tourism.

The editorial goes on with suggestions:

Tell the world Japan is safe to visit. 

First of all, the government and the public sector need to actively convey information to the world to dispel the false idea that travel to Japan is dangerous.

Prepare unique tourism plans.

 Of course, tourist destinations also need to rack their brains to find ways to make themselves more appealing. Measures to boost local tourism led by prefectural and municipal governments often end up creating duplicate facilities or hosting events similar to those already available elsewhere in the nation.

Even before this editorial appeared, it has been evident that the Japanese government is getting serious about  boosting tourism to the country (getting the foreign exchange rates more favorable to foreign tourists would be a big help).  Perhaps the silver lining of the Great East Japan Earthquake is that it woke up the government to (finally)  take action.

To read the full editorial, go here.