Summary of the 5th

Future Tourism Leaders Workshop

Co-organized with Kobe University Graduate School of Intercultural Studies,Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
UN Tourism Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacificand Miyama Tourism Association (Miyama DMO)

Miyama, Nantan City, Kyoto Prefecture
March 23 to 24, 2024

1. Background

The Future Tourism Leaders Workshop (FTLW) is designed for tourism leaders across Asia and thePacific region who are currently enrolled in a tourism program (undergraduate to postgraduate), haverecently completed their tourism studies, or are about to join the tourism workforce and havedemonstrated outstanding leadership, entrepreneurial, and innovative skills throughout their studies
and previous work experience. In addition, the workshop aims to serve as a platform for these aspiring
leaders to expand their knowledge and share ideas with similar-minded professionals from the region.
2. Overview

The 5th Future Tourism Leaders Workshop, co-organized with Kobe University Graduate School ofIntercultural Studies, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Miyama Tourism Association(Miyama DMO), was held in Miyama, Kyoto, one of the Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism (BTV). The
BTV initiative recognizes outstanding examples of rural destinations that sustainably implement
tourism as a key driver for rural development and community well-being. In this two-day workshop,
participants learned about sustainable tourism measures in one of the recognized BTVs in Japan —Miyama village and saw the village first-hand through a technical visit. Invited speakers from Taiwan
and Thailand also spoke about the contribution of tourism to achieving the Sustainable Development
Goals.
Under the theme of Sustainable Tourism in the Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism, the following subtopics were also discussed during the workshop: how International Institutions and Certifications work
on tourism development and how Sustainable Development Goals are achieved through tourism.
An online workshop session was held on March 9th to provide participants with an initial encounter before
their visit to Miyama from March 23 to 24. This session was also conducted to facilitate ease ofcommunication during the technical visit. To provide ample introduction to the March 23 to 24 workshop in
Miyama, on-demand lectures were also provided by UN Tourism and JICA.
3. Technical TourThe technical tour in Miyama was held on March 23, Saturday. The tour was held in Miyama’s Kayabukino-Sato. The thatched-roof houses of Miyama were declared important cultural property in 1993. The
walk around the village highlights how the thatched roofs are maintained and built and their uniquefeatures. The tour enabled the guides from Miyama to share knowledge on the traditional roof and thechallenges it faces.

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Photos in Kayabuki no Sato, Miyama:34. Summary of Symposium
An online pre-workshop session was organized in the afternoon of March 9th to introduce the participants toeach other and present a video lecture about Oku-Matsushima, here is the summary of the March 9th online
pre-workshop session:
Mr. Masanori Kudo
Chief Operating and Marketing Officer
In-Outbound Tohoku (as of April 2024)
UN Tourism Best Tourism Villages 2023
Oku-Matsushima: From a Practitioner’s Viewpoint
Mr. Kudo introduced Oku-Matsushima which was recently recognized as the Best Tourism Village in
2023. Oku-Matsushima is a seaside community located in Matsushima Bay. It is home to the Jomon
period culture and the Miyagi prefecture has also enacted rules to protect these landscapes fromany unpermitted changes.
The village also takes on a peoplecentered approach to finding solutions totheir challenges. After the 2011 tsunami,
the village took a “storytelling” program
through the path leading from the former
train station that was damaged in March2011 to “Osatoyama Hill”, a hill that
became an evacuation spot for residents
during the tsunami. This educationalroute provides an opportunity to learn
about the disaster from the” storytellers”
or the survivors themselves.
As the DMO for Oku-Matsushima, they
are also promoting the “Mori-Sato-Umi
Miyagi” or 7-day tour of the ocean andforest and more so for the promotion ofsustainable tourism in the destination.
Oku-Matsushima
mostlyreceives
educational trips and day trip visitors
coming from Sendai.
Mr. Kudo also shares that the local
lifestyle is quite sustainable (following aphilosophy of using what people alreadyhave) but that keeping these practices
alive is where the work lies. He also
shares that the locals are highly awareof the need for resilience as climatechange is continuously affecting thefishermen’s main source of living.

4Tourism is also being used as a “relationship builder” for the locals to appreciate the connection
with international tourists. As such, big events such as the open day showcase of the Air Defense
Force are also driving visitors to Matsushima area.
Ms. Tomomi Sato
Associate Expert, Team 2
Mr. Tsuda Yuya
Team 1
Private Sector Development Group, Economic Development Department
JICA: Achieving Sustainable Development Goals through Tourism – Toolkit of Indicators for Projects
JICA first introduces its cooperation andcollaboration
strategy, along with their
tourism-related endeavors in Peru andUzbekistan.
While
tourism has positive
impacts,mismanagement can yield adverse effects suchas economic leakage, and environmental andcultural degradation. To counteract these, aframework for sustainable development isimperative from both the private and public
sectors. JICA's projects aims for this approach,such as in their Sustainable Development ofCultural Landscape project in Peru. The projectfocuses on fostering eco-museums as versatile
tourism assets. In 2023, JICA conductedfamiliarization trips to introduce the Discovery
trail to tourism operators and they have also
successfully introduced the developed site
during the Tourism Expo Japan together with the
Peruvian
tourism
promotions
agency(PROMPERU).
Another project is their initiative to support
capacity building with the Tourism Committee of
Uzbekistan to promote Silk Road Tourism andoffer technical training to five Central Asia
countries (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan). JICA also
conducted technical training that drew insightsfrom Japan's Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route,which are registered as UNESCO World Heritagesacred sites and properties.
TIPs proposes a standardized approach to measure the impact of tourism on SDGs. Tailored for diverse
users involved in planning, implementing and evaluating tourism projects, the toolkit underscores the5linkage between potential tourism endeavors and each SDG, offering a comprehensive understanding of
their contribution.
TIPs were developed to be simple, realistic, measurable, verifiable, and referable within the scope andframework of any kind of tourism project. It is supposed to be enough to monitor and measure output,
outcomes, and impacts of projects through time and connected with connected SDGs.
Considering this framework in the case of Miyama town where local community guides narrate
community stories, provides a blueprint for identifying and preserving cultural heritage sites, therebyaligning with SDGs.
Relevant link: JICA and UN Tourism partnership:https://www.jica.go.jp/activities/issues/private_sec/cooperation.html
The second day of the workshop in Miyama showcased lectures from invited speakers from Taiwan and
Thailand. Below is a summary of their lectures:
Ms. Monique Chen
Co-founder and Chairwoman, Sustainable Taiwan Travel“Experiences of Implementing Global Sustainable Tourism Standard in Taiwan”
Sustainable Travel Taiwan (STT) is an NGO
that was established in 2008 and wasofficially registered as an organization in
2011. STT has been dedicated tosupporting DMOs, local community
governments, and the private sector in
Taiwan to be able to be certified under the
GSTC criteria. STT cooperates with Green
Destinations, Travelife, and Control Union
in promoting sustainable practices.
Currently, there are three (3) certified
Green Destinations in Taiwan that go withdifferent strategies for sustainability. Ms.
Chen points out that Taiwan understands
sustainability in terms of certification. The
GSTC training that STT conducts aims to explain and show case studies to understand the GSTC
criteria.
In her presentation, Ms. Chen provided her experience with working with 3 different communities in
Taiwan: (1) the coastal community of Gang-kou, (2) the indigenous, mountain community of Bunun
Village, and (3) the cultural village of Nanliao/Penghu. These experiences focused on building
sustainable community-based tourism and showcasing three keys to working with communities –(a) finding the patience to move towards a long-term commitment to sustainability, (b) providing
training and coaching to local human resources, and (c) ensuring good communication with both
local and international stakeholders, and the government.

6Relevant link : Sustainable Travel Taiwan - https://sustainabletravel.org.tw/stt-english/

Mr. Natthawut Chaengkrachang (Mickey)
Designated Areas Development Officer
Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) Nan“Sustainable and Community-based Tourism in Thailand: Best Tourism Village and DASTA”
Mr. Mickey started his lecture by explaining how DASTA isconnected to the Ministry of Sports and Tourism inThailand. DASTA is the mandated authority to develop
sustainability in designated areas by the ministry. This isdue to the view that tourism is one of the tools in developing
communities and that local people can shape their future.
For the Thai government, establishing the country as asustainable tourism destination is one of the core strategy
for growth. Currently, there are nine (9) designated areas inThailand, located from north to south of Thailand.
DASTA has created several training and toolkit programs tohelp prepare communities for tourism activities. The CBTThailand is a tool used to create a baseline to evaluate thestrengths and weaknesses of the communities throughout
the tourism development process so that the communities
and coaching units can effectively identify areas forcapacity-building and developing the community’s
potential. This tool can also be further used to monitor the
impacts of tourism in an area. The Sustainable Tourism
Management Standard (STMS), a GSTC-recognized
standard, was also introduced to local administrative
organizations.
Mr. Mickey further introduces the goal of DASTA to help transform tourism into “creative tourism” ordeveloping tourism through the active participation of communities. Through DASTA’s Creative
Tourism Criteria measures a community’s quality of “stories” (stories from local cultural assets thathave been researched, sequenced, designed, and presented), “senses” (activities that have sensory
appeal), and “sophistication” (the activity can be presented in a certain timing to generate interest,
impress and inspire). The criteria aim to discover and showcase a destination’s marketing potential.
Mr. Mickey also shared videos introducing Bo Suak, Thailand. He elaborated that gastronomy
tourism is more complicated than regular tourist activities due to the focus on the flow of the tourists
so that they can fully enjoy the experience. He also shared promotions for secondary cities inThailand that the government use to showcase new destinations.
Relevant Link: DASTA Thailand - https://www.dasta.or.th/en

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5.

Summary of Workshop
During the workshop, the participants were placed in working groups. These groups are preassigned:• Groups consisted of 7 - 8 members each;• There were 3 groups including the recurrent students;• Each group is assigned a “Facilitator” from the organizers.

On 24 March, the second day of the Future Tourism Leaders Workshop, each group had a 15-minutepresentation on their research on the assigned Best Tourism Village. Each group presented sustainable
tourism by examining the assigned BTV (Hakuba, Oku-Matsushima, or Niseko). The presentation should
include:① Basic information on the village (geography and basic data, and characteristics of thedestination).
②Discuss the most “sustainable” elements (community, culture, economy, education, andresilience) in the village.
③Analyze the BTV based on its advantages/disadvantages as well as its problems/potentials.
Output of group presentations:Group 1: Hakuba- Used NVivo survey software to analyze
commonly used words to describe Hakuba
sourced from written reviews from
Tripadvisor, to which the group highlighted
the recurrence of: “snow”, “Australia”,“powder slopes”, “crowded” and “family”.
Additionally, the group noted of increasing
growth of tourism and of high-repeat guests.
- In terms of accessibility, the group noted
Hakuba’s proximity to major cities. They
have also noted Hakuba’s roots in “ancient
salt routes” and gradually to sustainable ski
resorts which made their cultural andenvironmental commitment.
- The group also presented “minshuku
culture”: the cherished tradition of themountain where residents warmly welcomed
mountaineers and skiers into their homes
offering local cuisine made of rice andvegetables.

8-The group reported on 5 key elements of sustainability in Hakuba: (a) multicultural experienceoffered by a foreigner-friendly website; (b)Hakuba’s circular vision project for
reducing waste through smarter design ofmaterials; (c) integration of resilience inthe economy by shifting away fromdependence on materials from externalsources (resilience and self-sufficiency);(d) inclusion of sustainability concepts in
education.

Group 2: Oku-Matsushima-

The group focused their presentation on OkuMatsushima’s cultural and natural resources such as
the: Suzaki wetland and Sagakei Gorge, Jomon History
Museum and the Satohama Shell mounds. The groupalso briefly introduced the work of Nobiru-juku, a civic
group that participates on government-led exchange
activities.
Oku-Matsushima also has a strong
agricultural product – oyster, nori and rice industry thatthe destination is also equally known for.
- The
group
also
identified
accommodation
establishments in Oku-Matsushima, with a total of 105
rooms, with a maximum capacity of 385 people a day.
Along with accessibility options from trains to rental
bicycles.
Oku-Matsushima also developed a trail
course with necessary visitor amenities in the trail andwas well-planned for its users. The group notes
however that public transport is far from the village andwould require visitors to pay for or look for transport
services for luggage.
- The group found that the city adopted the “All HigashiMatsushima Style” which aims to create a multifunctional tourist area.
- The group identified three challenges faced by OkuMatsushima: decline in local population, finding ways
to renew tourism promotion methods to transition todigital marketing and rebuilding people’s confidence
in tourism safety.
Group 3: Niseko

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The group highlighted Niseko as a “year-round”
destination with activities during summer and winter.
They have also noted that Niseko has actively rejectedlarge-scale development and implemented “Niseko
rules” which drive efforts toward environmental
protection.
The group highlighted the following sustainable
elements found in Niseko: (1) a culture of selfgovernance that leads to programs such as the “Niseko
Rules” on safeguarding the environment, public lectures
where residents become part of the policy-making
process and (2) a culture of thinking ones’ town as theirown.
The group listed the following as benefitsof the recognition: (1) an increase in thequality of tourists, (2) improving Niseko in
all aspects, (3) promotion of the city
brand, and (4) pride for the hometown.
The group also shared the perception of
Niseko residents on receiving the Best
Tourism Village recognition. Meanwhile,
the residents also expect a downside to
the recognition namely, worsening oftraffic, increasing cost of living, delay inlocal communication, and highly specific recognition for one sector only (tourism).

For these listed disadvantages, the group recommended the following actions: improve the datacollecting mechanism to receive the residents’ perspectives, integrate local life and tourism, anddevelop the local appreciation for the BTV recognition in Niseko.
The workshop ended with all three presentations concluded and with the presentation of completion certificatesto the participants.

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6. Overall Attendance
Total
32
10
22
6
22
3
8
9
8

Symposium Attendees• Staff• Students (including recurrent students)
Symposium observers (Business-persons)Workshop participants
Speakers
Universities
Companies / Government Offices
Countries

a. Workshop Participant Demographics:

GenderMale, 8

Female, 14

Educational Background
Doctorate, 1

Masters, 9

Undergraduate,
1211

b. Nationalities (Workshop Participants)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Total

Countries
China
Argentina
Japan
MexicoMyanmar
Peru
Chile
Indonesia

Number of Students
1
1
14
1
2
1
1
1
22

C. Participating Universities:
University

Doctorate Master's Degree Undergraduate Grand Total

1. Bunkyo University

1

2. Kobe University

3

3. Kyoto University

1

1
7

1

10
2

4. Kyoto University of Advanced Science Senior High school

1

1

5. Osaka Seikei University

2

2

1

4

6. Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
7. Rissho University

31

1

8. Waseda University
Grand Total

2

7

1

1

12

22

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7. Evaluation of Workshop:
Overall ratings per session:13

Which topic/speaker were you most interested in? Tell us the idea that struck you the most:
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Information about Green Tourism
The cases or the experience of the villages (keynote lecture)"One key theme is the effect of certification. In Taiwan it is effective. While Best Tourism Village is
not effective enough to attract more tourists yet. What’s the difference? Certification vs title?
The effect of Best Tourism Villages (still not seen)
Taiwan’s emphasis on certification (explanation of sustainability)
My thought is much more tourists’ need-driven. While I learned the concept of BTV “by locals to the
locals”.
Difficulty of getting certified. 100 criteria, 2-3years to complete it, cost of being certified, and renewal.
Feature of local area. “Usually a person who has a strong influence (発言権) makes a decision of
how the village wants to be! Whether it be tourist- centered village or less tourists”.
DASTA : Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Public Organization).
Creative tourism, gastronomy tourism struck me the most.
I’m interested in tourism in Thailand is the best.
Because Mickey showed us Thailand tourism which has experience of local life. And it’s very nice
way to improve tourism and to preserve tradition.
Both, it was a great opportunity to learn how the other countries tourism leaders make efforts fortheir region and that is inspiring for me to study about tourism more and want to make my country’s
tourism better.
Monique and Mickey were very interesting. It was a good opportunity to learn about different
destinations.
Sustainable tourism/CBT
I took an interest in the topic delivered by Ms. Monique. It was fascinating to learn about her
unwavering determination to help communities improve their tourist attractions sustainably. I also
realized the truth in her statement that it's better to ignore those who don't want our help when we're
attempting to assist them.
All the speech were very inspiring. Especially the case study provided by the speaker from Taiwan
was very interesting. Those are some application cases of SDG's in real villages. They are very
instructive and the experience is worth learning from.
During the tour of Kayabuki-no-sato, I heard from Kogita san that there were almost no international
travelers here about 10 years ago but these days many travelers all over the world from Taiwan, China
and other countries are coming to Miyama. I felt the magnetic local power of Miyama for global
market. I also thought at the era of aging society in Japan, one key point to survive for rural area is totake advantage of global market and BTV initiative will contribute a lot to it.
The dilemma faced by Best Tourism Villages: their need to attract tourists without attracting too
many tourists.
I was very interested in a field work tour in Kayabuki no sato. I learned that the view and atmosphereare very important there. That’s why people who live there care about their houses. However, I justworried about disaster because it is very close to the forest from their homes. I went Miyama village,

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so I wanted to learn and discuss about it more with group members through the workshop. We did
Hakuba village, but we were supposed to discuss and give a presentation about Miyama village
because we were able to know about the good and bad points there. I think it should be considered
contents.
What other themes would you recommend for the workshop?
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To search for originality in each place
Profile of tourists visiting communities with recognition as one of the best tourism villages
Working with the local focal person about sustainable tourism/sustainability.
Tourism and Rural development in Developing Countries
SDGs in tourism; The future of sustainable tourism and SDGs
Shrine as Cultural Heritage and Tourist Attraction
Overtourism on some famous sights
Seminars on coastal and marine tourism topics in the future.
Sustainable tourism in big cities.
Spreading the appeal of local tourism

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