Rural Areas Key To Meeting Japan's 20 Million Tourist Goal

Above, Atami Castle on hilltop overlooking Atami City. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the keys to the Japan government's goal of reaching 20 million foreign visitors to Japan is to get them to also visit smaller cities and rural areas. But that goal may be limited by a shortage of tourist facilities.

According to The Japan Times:

It is crucial to draw more foreign tourists to smaller cities and rural areas in Japan as Tokyo and other big cities will face a shortage of facilities before the number of overseas visitors hits the government’s target, a travel association said Tuesday. 

“The supply of planes, buses and hotels will likely fall into quite tight conditions” in major cities if foreign tourists continue to increase toward 2020, Hiromi Tagawa, chairman of the Japan Association of Travel Agents, said at a news conference in Tokyo. 

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aims to bring the number to 20 million by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of his economic growth strategy.

It is good that the government is recognizing this eventuality and are taking steps to minimize or eliminate the future shortage.

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