White Paper on Tourism in Japan, 2010
SummaryTable of Content
State of Tourism in FY2009
PartⅠ New Developments in Tourism Policy
Chapter 1

Promoting Tourism Policy by the Entire Government

2

Chapter 2

Understanding and Analyzing International Travel Patterns to Realize
Tourism Nation

4

PartⅡ Status of Tourism and Tourism Measures in FY2009
Chapter 1

Current Status of Tourism

20

Chapter 2

Creating Attractive, Internationally Competitive Tourist Locations

29

Chapter 3

Strengthening the International Competitiveness of the Tourism Industry
and Developing Human Resources to Contribute to the Promotion of
Tourism

30

Chapter 4

Promoting International Tourism

31

Chapter 5

Improving the Environment for Encouraging Tourist Travel

35

Tourism Policy in FY2010
Chapter 1

Creating Attractive, Internationally Competitive Tourist Locations

38

Chapter 2Strengthening the International Competitiveness of the Tourism Industry
and Developing Human Resources to Contribute to the Promotion of
Tourism

39

Chapter 3

Promoting International Tourism

39

Chapter 4

Improving the Environment for Encouraging Tourist Travel

40

1State of Tourism in FY2009
Part I New Developments in Tourism Policy
Chapter 1 Promoting Tourism Policy by the Entire Government
Section 1 Tourism Administration as a Growing Field“The realization of tourism nation” is regarded as an essential national issue for developing
the Japanese economic society in the 21st century as seen in the enactment of “the Tourism
Nation Promotion Basic Law” in December 2006 and the cabinet decision on “the Tourism
Nation Promotion Basic Plan” in June 2007. Under such circumstances, it is necessary to
promote measures for realizing a tourism nation comprehensively and systematically by theentire government by strengthening collaboration and coordination among concerned agencies
and ministries in order to achieve the goals set out in the Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan.
“The Japan Tourism Agency (JTA)” was founded on October 1, 2008 as an external bureau of
the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) to develop a system thatenables functional and effective enforcement of operations and clarify an organization that is
responsible for tourism administration.
“The MLIT Growth Strategy Conference” consisting of experts in each field has been held
since October 2009 to discuss growth strategies of Japan concerning the administration of land
and transportation including the realization of a tourism nation.
In addition, “the New Growth Strategy (a basic policy) Toward a Radiant Japan” of thegovernment decided by the Cabinet in December 2009 positions the promotion of a tourism
nation as one of the six growth strategy fields. Under a consciousness that tourism realizes
economic growth without depending on the increase of pubic spending, in order to realize atourism nation by the entire country, “the Tourism Nation Promotion Headquarters” consistingof the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as its chief and the senior
vice-ministers from all agencies and ministries was established in December 2009. The threeworking teams were established under the Headquarters to advance the consideration among
concerned agencies and ministries; 1) “Working team on the attraction of foreign tourists” thatcarries out coordination for resolving issues related to the attraction of foreign tourists
including a problem of issuing the tourist visa for the Chinese people, 2) “Tourism collaboration
consortium” that deliberates on comprehensive promotion measures related to various tourism
menus such as eco tourism, green tourism, cultural tourism, industrial tourism, medical
tourism and sports tourism, and 3) “Working team on the decentralization of vacations” which
deliberates on and coordinates the decentralization of vacation taking that has a great effect on
the reduction of travel costs through an equalized demand for tourism, improvement of
productivity of the tourism industry, stabilization of employment, etc.
Section 2 Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan and Its Promotion“The Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Law” which positions the realization of a tourism
nation as an essential issue for the development of Japanese economic society in the 21st
century was enacted in January 2007, and based on the Law, “the Tourism Nation Promotion
Basic Plan,” a master plan to promote various measures concerning the realization of a tourism
nation comprehensively and systematically, was decided by the government in June 2007. This
plan advocates basic principles related to measures concerning the realization of a tourism
nation and the goals such as 1) raise the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan to 10 million
by 2010, 2) raise the number of Japanese tourists visiting overseas to 20 million by 2010, 3)
increase the amount of domestic consumption on tourist travel to 30 trillion yen by FY2010, 4)
raise the average number of stays per person for domestic tourist travel by the Japanese public
to 4 nights per year by FY2010, and 5) raise the number of international conferences held inJapan by more than 50% by 2011. Also, the Plan stipulates necessary measures to achieve
those goals.
The entire government, mainly the Japan Tourism Agency, will promote measures to realize
a tourism nation comprehensively and systematically.
2

▼Five goals to realize a tourism nation in “the Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan”(Translation of column)
Amount of consumption on tourist travel in Japan

In accordance with the Tourism Nation Promotion
Basic Law, “the Tourism Nation Promotion BasicPlan” was decided by the Cabinet on June 29, 2007.
The Basic Plan stipulates the five basic goals to
realize a tourism nation

It will be raised to 30 trillion yen by FY2010
29.7 Trillion yen
2.2 Trillion yen
1.1 Trillion yen※

24.4 Trillion yen

Term of Plan: Five years
The plan is checked every year and reviewed
approx. three years later

22.8 Trillion yen

FY2005

Influence of the baby-boom
generation

2.5 Trillion yen

Consumption of foreign
tourists visiting Japan

23.9 Trillion yen

Consumption of Japanese
domestic tourists

1.6 Trillion yen-

Influence of the increasedin vacations

FY2010*Value before the correction(value after the correction
is 23.9 trillion yen)

Number of stays per person in domestic tourist travel

Number of foreign tourists visiting Japan
It will be raised to 10 million by 2010 and to the same level as
the number of Japanese tourists going overseas in the future.

It will be raised to four nights by FY2010.

(Unit: 1,000)
4 Nights

2.77 Nights*

Average increase of 8.1% is requiredin the future

2006*
Provisional value (definite
value is 2.72 nights)

2010

FY2006

Number of Japanese tourists going overseas

FY2010

Number of international conferences held in Japan

It will be raised to twenty million by 2010.

It will be raised by more than 50% by 2011.

(Unit: 1,000)

Average increase of 3.3% is requiredin the future

2006

Average increase of 7.0% is requiredin the future.

2010

2005

3

2011

Chapter 2 Understanding and Analyzing International Travel Patterns to Realize Tourism
NationIn this chapter, a tourism environment of other countries will be compared to that of Japan toanalyze issues and to verify a future course of strategic efforts by panoramically grasping thecurrent status of tourism.
1. Current status of tourist travel in the world(1) Change in the numbers of tourists accepted in the world
Looking at an environment that surrounds the global tourism in the 21st century, thenumber of tourists has been increasing although incidents that have a negative impact on
tourism have occurred such as the 9-11 terrorist attacks (2001), the epidemics of severe acuterespiratory syndrome (SARS) (2003) and the new influenza virus (2009) and the global
financial crisis (2008). According to a quick estimation by the World Tourism Organization(UNWTO) announced in 2009, the number of international tourists accepted was 922 million in
2008, increasing over the previous year. This was the highest number ever.
Looking at the status of accepting foreign tourists by country, the top five countries are
France, Spain, the United States, China and Italy. Those countries attract more tourists fromneighboring countries and regions.
Current status of the number of foreign tourists accepted (2008)
U.K.

Austria
CanadaRussiaNetherland

Korea

Germany
Switzerland
FrancePortugal

China
TurkeySpain

United States

Japan
TaiwanIndia

Hong Kong

Thailand

MexicoItaliaMalaysia
Indonesia
Singapore

BrazilAustralia

Number of tourists accepted (thousand)

New Zealand

Number of tourists between
each country (thousand)Unit: thousand

Note: Created by the Japan Tourism Agency based on the “World Tourism Highlight 2009” and the “Tourism Market
Trends” published by the UNWTO

4

(2) Current status of tourism in major countries
In order to compare the current status of tourism in major Asian and EU countries and the
U.S.A., basic information such as population and GDP by country, an implementation status of
tourist travel and vacation-related data that has a great impact on travel environments werecollected.
Target: Japan, Korea, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, United States, China (forreference)(Note) China is for reference as statistical information was not collected completely(ⅰ) Number of domestic overnight trip
The number of domestic overnight trips (including business trips) in FY2008 was 2.8 times inJapan. Japan is ranked as the fourth place among the seven countries excluding China that
does not have any statistics data on domestic travel.
(ⅱ) Number of stays in domestic trip
The number of stays per domestic travel in FY2008 was 2.0 in Japan. This was the last placein the seven countries excluding China that does not have any statistics data.
(ⅲ) Total number of stays in domestic travel
The total number of stays per person in domestic travel in Japan was 5.6 nights based on 1)
and 2) above, putting Japan to the last place among the seven countries.
(ⅳ) Number of overseas travels
The number of overseas travels of the Japanese public was 0.13 and this is the second lastplace after China (0.03).
(ⅴ) Tourism GDP
The tourism GDP of Japan was 90.3 billion dollars (2008) and its share in the entire GDP is
1.9%.
(ⅵ) Working hours, etc.
The annual working hours are shorter and the paid vacation days are longer in European
countries. The annual working hours in Japan (1,785 hours) and the number of days of paidvacation given (substantially 18 days on average) are the same level as the UnitedStates.Current status of tourism in major countries (2008)

5

Current status of tourism in major countries(2008)
Japan

Korea

FranceUnitedKingdom

Germany

UnitedStatesAustralia

China(reference)

1)
Area
(km2)

377,946

99,678632,834

242,514357,104

9,826,675

7,692,024

9,600,000

2)
Population

127.4
million(2009)

48.61
million61.84
million61.41
million82.77
million336.0
million21.02
million

1,336.31
million

Tokyo

Seoul

Paris

LondonBerlinWashington,
D.C.

Canberra

Beijing

Japanese

KoreanFrenchEnglishGermanEnglishEnglishChineseChurch ofEngland

Catholic,
Protestant,
JudaismProtestants,
Roman
Catholic,
Judaism,other,
no religion

Catholicism,
Buddhism,Muslim,Hinduism,
Judaism,
no religion

Buddhism,Muslim,Catholicism

3)
Capital4)Languages
Basic
information

Travelactivities

Workinghours

5)
Religions6)
NominalGDP(USD) ($)
7)
GDP
per capita(USD)
8)
Number of
travels(domestic
overnight
trips)
9)
Number ofstays pertravel(domestic
travel)10)
Total
number ofdomestic
stays
11)
Number of
travels(overseas)
(USD)
12)
Amount ofconsumption
per travel(domestic
stays)
13)
Tourism GDP(USD) and its
share
14)
Number of
publicholidays
15)
Number ofdays ofannualpaid vacation
given
16)
Averageworking
hours (2007)

Buddhism,
Shintoism

Buddhism,
Protestant,Catholic,
etc.

4.917
trillion

928.7
billion

2.856
trillion

2.662
trillion

3.655
trillion

14.441
trillion

885
billion

4.327
trillion

38,457

19,13646,03743,73444,72947,44046,824

3,259

2.8

2.2

3.4

1.9

2.2

3.2
(2006)

3.4

2.0

2.7

5.8

3.2

3.4

4.4
(2005)

3.9

5.6

5.9

19.7

6.1

7.5

14.1

13.3

-

0.13

0.25

0.39

1.12

1.04

0.21

0.28

0.03

534

109

500
(2007)

329

292

591
(2005)

531

90.3 billion

79.6 billion(2005)
3.7%

53.9 billion(2003)
3.4%

73 billion(2009)
2.1%

370 billion(2007)
2.7%

34.1 billion

1.9%

12 billion(2009)
1.5%

15

14

13

8

9

10

20
(statutory)

11

10~20
(statutory)
average: 18

15~25(statutory)

25(statutory)

28(statutory)

20(statutory)

average:
16.9 used20(statutory)

5~15(statutory)

1,785

2,316

1,533

1,670

1,433

1,794

1,722

Catholic

3.6%

-

-

-

54.4 billion(2002)
4.2%

Notes:
1. Created by the Japan Tourism Agency based on “White Paper on Tourism 2009” by the Japan National Tourism
Organization (JNTO), “Travel legal database 2009” by the International Labour Organization, “Informationby country/region” by the Japan External Trade Organization and statistical data on tourism of various
countries
2. If data of 2008 is not available, the latest available data is used
3. The domestic overnight trip includes homecoming visits and business trips. The source of data of each country
are as follows:6

JapanKorea
FranceEnglandGermany
United States
Australia
China

2

FY2008 Travel and Tourism Consumption Trend Survey
2008 National Tourism Survey
Memento du tourisme 2008, Memento du Tourisme 2009, Les chiffres cles du tourisme 2008
UK Tourist Statistics 2008
Statistischen Jahrbuch 2009
U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, 2010
NVS December 2008
China Statistical Yearbook 2009

Trends of Tourist Travel in Japan, France and Korea(1) Setting target countries
As seen in 1(2), the trend of each country’s tourist travel differs to a significant degree, sothat a detailed status of tourism was investigated based on “the international comparative
survey on travel environment FY2009*1” which targets Japan, France and Korea, and factors
which affect tourist travels and issues Japan should address were analyzed.
*1

Outline of the “the International comparative survey on travel environment FY2009 conducted by the Japan
Tourism Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Period of survey: March 2010
Method of survey: Internet-based (panel survey)
Subject: 1,000 (total 3,000, allocation by population rate) in Japan, France and Korea, respectively. The tourist
travels in this survey refer to the overnight tourist trips and exclude business trips and day trips.

(2) Status of tourist travels(ⅰ)

Number of trips per year, number of stays
The annual number of overnight trips in Japan in 2009 was 1.78, and this is lower than the
results of France (2.51) and of Korea (2.72). The number of stays per trip in Japan was 2.93
nights, and this is also lower than the results of France (10.42) and Korea (2.99). Looking at the
breakdown of the number of trips per year, the group that did not travel at all throughout theyear in Japan accounted for 33.3%. This is 1.5 times as high as France (22.0%) and twice ashigh as Korea (16.3%).
Comparison of the number of trips and the number of stays per year

Number ofannualtravelsKorea
2.72 times
2.99 nights

Japan
1.78 times
2.93 nights

France2.51 times
10.42 nights
Japan
FranceKorea

Average number of stays (per travel)

Notes:
1. Based on “FY2009 International Survey on Travel Environment” by the Japan Tourism Agency
2. The average number of stays is an average of the three longest travels in the travels conducted in 20097

Number of overnight tourist travels

Japan

France

Korea

0

1

2

3

More than 3

Note: Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment” by the Japan Tourism Agency(ⅱ)

Amount of consumption on tourism, etc.

1) Amount of consumption on tourism
The amount of consumption per domestic overnight trip in Japan is 55,186 yen. Although
this is the same level as France (55,297 yen), the amount of consumption per night is more than
twice (27,593 yen) as much as that of France.
Amount of consumption per domestic overnight trip and per nightAmount ofconsumption
per trip andper night

Japan (2008)
55,186

Amount of consumption per trip (yen)Number of stays
Amount of consumption per night (yen)France (2007)
55,297

Korea (2008)
11,266

2.0

4.9

2.7

27,593

11,285

4,173

Notes: Created by the Japan Tourism Agency based on the following materials
Japan: JTA “FY2008 Travel and Tourism Consumption Trend Survey”
France: “Memento du Tourisme 2008”
Korea: “2008 National Tourism Survey”

2) Usage of accommodations and transportations
Looking at the breakdown of usage of accommodations in domestic overnight travels, the useof paid accommodations such as hotels (44.3%) and inns (28.3%) is more common in Japan,
while the use of family home and friend’s home accounts for over 50% in France and Korea.
Regarding means of transportation, public transportations such as train, the Shinkansen bullet
train and airplane are more common in Japan, while automobile accounts for about half as
much as France (82.0%) and Korea (70.2%). This is thought to be one factor which increases theamount of consumption on tourism in Japan compared to France and Korea.

8Breakdown of accommodations of domestic overnight trip by type
Breakdown by accommodation
Japan
France
Korea
Hotel
44.3%
10.4%
3.5%
Inn
28.3%
B&B, guest house, rented vacation home (Note 1)
4.1%
10.3%
31.3%
Camping site (Note 2)
1.3%
4.7%
2.2%
Family home, friend’s home (Note 3)
22.4%
58.5%
55.3%
Vacation home, resort condominium (Note 4)
1.3%
10.5%
Others10.0%
5.7%
Notes:
1. In France, Location, gite ou chambre d’hote, and in Korea, total of guest house 4.9%, motel/inn 8.0%, andcondominium 8.6% and B&B 9.8%
2. Camping in France and camp in Korea
3. Total of relative’s home 46.1% and friend’s home 12.4% in France, family’s/friend’s home in Korea
4. Residence socondaire de foyer in France
5. Multiple answers in Japan and Korea* Data of 2008 for Japan, France and Korea
Created by the Japan Tourism Agency based on the following materials
Japan: JTA “FY2008 Travel and Tourism Consumption Trend Survey”
France: “Memento du Tourisme 2009”
Korea: “2008 National Tourism Survey”

Breakdown of means of transportation in domestic overnight trips
Means of transportation
Japan
FranceAutomobile (Note 1)
34.2%
82.0%
Train (excluding the bullet train) (Note 2)
11.1%
13.5%
Bullet train (Note 3)
16.3%
Express bus, route bus (Note 4)
2.9%
1.2%
Airplane
12.5%
1.4%
Hired bus (Note 5)
7.4%
Others3.9%
1.8%
Notes:
1. Including motorbike in France
2. Including Train a grande vitesse (TGV)
3. Rapid train in Korea
4. Including hired bus in France, and total of express bus 6.4% and general bus 6.0% in Korea
5. Hired bus/tourist bus in Korea
z The longest distance among the transportations used in Japan and multiple answers in Korea
z Data of 2008 for Japan, France and Korea
Created by the Japan Tourism Agency based on the following materials:
Japan: JTA “FY2008 Travel and Tourism Consumption Trend Survey”
France: “Memento du Tourisme 2009”
Korea: “2008 National Tourism Survey”

Korea
70.2%
4.2%
3.6%
12.4%
3.4%
3.8%
-

(ⅲ) Status of Vacation Taking
Looking at the status of annual paid vacation taking in 2009, the average length of vacation
was 8.27 days for Japan and 8.93 days for Korea, almost the same level. On the other hand, inFrance where continuous taking of annual paid vacations is obligated, the number of days ofannual paid vacations taken is as long as 34.95 days. The number of days of vacation including
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays taken for travel was longest in France (15.73 days), thencame Japan (9.05 days). The result of Korea was about as half as that of Japan (4.36 days).
Looking at the relationship between the number of vacation days and the number of stays inovernight trips, the number of stays is around 2~3 nights in Japan regardless of the number ofvacation days, while people use more vacation days for travel in France and Korea.

9Status of vacation taking
Japan (n=925)
France (n=878)
Korea (n=791)
Number of days of annual paid vacation taken
8.27
34.95
8.93
Number of days
9.05
15.73
4.36
Longest vacation
Number of stays
3.27
14.62
3.46
Number of days
4.99
8.32
3.36
Second longest vacation
Number of stays
2.73
7.38
2.78
Number of days
3.81
7.09
3.14
Third longest vacation
Number of stays
2.41
6.38
2.36
Notes
1. Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment,” Japan Tourism Agency
2. The number of annual paid vacation days taken does not include Saturday, Sunday and public holidays
3. The number of vacation days is the three longest holidays (including Saturday, Sunday and public holidays)
among the holidays used for overnight trips(ⅳ) Planning period and destination of overnight trip
Looking at the planning period of overnight trips, about 50% of the Koreans makes a plan in
the last minutes or within 1 month from the travel. On the other hand, in Japan and France,
about 60% of people make a plan more than 1 month before the travel. They tend to make a
travel plan earlier.
Planning period of trip

Japan

FranceKorea

Last minutes~
1 week before

1~2 weeks
beforeHalf the month~
1 month before

2~6 months
beforeMore than half
the year before

More thana year before

1~2 months before

Note: Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment,” Japan Tourism Agency

Concerning destinations for overnight trips, more than 80% of destinations account fordomestic destinations in Korea and Japan, while about 50% of destinations are domestic in
France.

10

Destinations of overnight trip

Japan

FranceKorea

Domestic

Overseas

Overseas (North America)

Overseas (others)

Overseas (Asia, Oceania)

Notes:
1. Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment,” Japan Tourism Agency
2. If one visited different regions in one overnight trip, a destination where he stayed the longest is adopted
for the totalization(3) Consciousness on tourist travel(ⅰ) Position of travel in the life
Looking at a position of travel in the life, the answer “hobby when there is time” was the mostpopular, then “necessity in the life” in Japan and France. On the other hand, “necessity in thelife” was the most popular answer in Korea, indicating that the Koreans have a strong desire
for travel in their life.
Position of travel in the life
Necessity in the life
As a memory in the life (honeymoon, graduation trip)
As a hobby when there is time

To attend a wedding or a funeral
To visit home or as part of homecoming visit

Should enjoy after the retirement, not now
Japan(N=1000)

Dream that cannot be realized due to circumstances

FranceKorea(N=1000)

No special value in travel

Notes
1. Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment,” Japan Tourism Agency
2. Up to 2 applicable answers

11

(ⅱ) Expectation on travel
Concerning the expectation on travel, “relaxation and healing” was the most popular answer
in all three countries. In Japan and Korea, “joy of travel itself and tasty food” was the second
popular answer (about 50%), while this is not a popular answer in France (15.1%). On the other
hand, “widening experiences as a human being” was the most popular answer in France(37.0%), and this is about twice as much as the standard of Japan and Korea. Those results
indicate that there are different views on what the people expect of travel in Japan/Korea andFrance.
Expectation of travel
Relaxation and healing

Recovery of health
Joy of travel itself and tasty foodTo deepen the tie with family and friends
Sports and leisure

To acquire knowledge useful for work and study
To widen experiences as a human being

Memory in the life
Japan(N=1000)

New encounters

FranceKorea(N=1000)

No special expectation in Travel

Notes:
1. Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment,” Japan Tourism Agency
2. Up to 2 applicable answers

12

(ⅲ) System necessary for increasing travels
As a system thought to be necessary for increasing overnight trips, “a system that facilitateseasy taking of consecutive days of vacation” was the most popular answer (34.0%), then“support for costs of family trip” (29.2%) and “a system that facilitates easy taking of vacations”(26.2%) in Japan. These answers indicate that many people need systems related to theacquisition of vacations and support for family trips.
In France, “Content with the current system” was the most popular answer (29.9%), andthere was a big difference from the results in Japan (12.8%) and Korea (4.7%). The systems to
support travel in France such as the annual paid leave act (vacation act) and vacation checks
are valued by the nation to a certain degree.
In Korea, “support for costs of family trip” was the most popular answer (51.2%). As shown in(4), the travel with family is highly valued in Korea and that is the reason why the people
expect a system to support family trips.
System necessary for increasing travel
Reserve system for travel costs with public support
System to support travel costs per family
System to support travel costs for the youth
System to support travel costs for the elderly
System to support travel costs for the low-income earner
System to support travel costs for the handicapped
Barrier free in tourist destinations andenhancement of universal design
System to increase more vacations than now
System to facilitate the acquisition of vacations allowed now
System to facilitate consecutive vacations
System to decentralize vacations so that holidays andvacations do not coincide in one season
System to provide useful information for planning of travel or in destinations(ranking of destinations, various discounts, support system)
System to supports costs for travel by company/organization
Enhancement of accommodations that can be used by
the youth with lower costs such as youth hostels, etc.
System to support travel for students bydiscount with international student card
System to support travel only by children

Japan(N=1000)
FranceKorea(N=1000)

Content with the current system

Notes:
1. Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment,” Japan Tourism Agency
2. Up to three applicable answers

13(4) Family trip
The family trip accounts for a large share in the tourist travel market*1. The analysis in the
White Paper on Tourism 2009 shows the result that experiences of meaningful family trip forchildren tend to increase the number of family trips when they become parents. Therefore,
travel experiences of children through family trip are thought to have a great impact on thetrend of future tourist travel.
(ⅰ)Number of family trips
The annual number of family trips*2 in 2009 was 1.10 for Japan, and this is lower than thevalues of France (2.07) and Korea (1.89). Looking at the number of family trips by age ofchildren, the number of family trips with junior high school students (1.04) and high school
students (0.74) are particularly low and about as half as those of France and Korea. In France,
the number of family trips is high regardless of the age of children, indicating that a custom offamily trip has been deeply rooted in the people’s life.
Number of family trips by age of children

Japan(N=689)

Beforeschoolage

Earlyelementary
gradesLateelementary
gradesJuniorhighschoolHighschoolFranceKorea(N=551)

After
No child
highat the timeschoolof survey(university,
technical college)

Total

Note: Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment,” Japan Tourism Agency*1 According to the “Travelers Trend 2009” by the Japan Travel Bureau Foundation, the ratio of family trip in thedomestic tourist travel has the biggest share of 51.4%*2 Only family trips are subject to the survey and travels only with parents or children are not included

14

(ⅱ)Consciousness on family trip
Looking at the consciousness on family trip, “necessity to deepen the family tie” was the mostpopular answer in three countries, but the percentage is much higher in Korea (78.0%) thanJapan (54.0%) and France (53.5%). The consciousness on family trip is very strong in Korea, as
shown in the results that the answer rate of other questions is also high.
Position of family trip
Necessity to deepen the family tie
Necessary for deepen knowledge of children
like study and club activities
Necessary to widen experiences of children
Necessary as a memorial of family(enrollment, graduation, marriage)
Necessary for transmitting the joy of
travel to children
Same as normal trip and companions
happen to be my family
Dream that cannot be realized
due to circumstances
I don’t feel any necessity of travellingJapan(N=689)

FranceKorea(N=551)

Notes:
1. Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment,” Japan Tourism Agency
2. Up to three applicable answers

15

(5) Consciousness on acceptance of tourists from overseas(ⅰ) Importance of foreign tourists
Looking at the consciousness on the acceptance of foreign tourists, “it is very important andnecessary to increase more” was a popular answer in Japan (64.9%) and Korea (89.2%). This
indicates that consciousness on the importance of accepting foreign tourists is strong. On theother hand, in France that accepts more foreign tourists in the world, the answer that “theforeign tourists should not be accepted any more” accounted for 53.0%, and “it is important toaccept foreign tourists but there is no need of increasing them any more” (33.9%) are more
popular than Japan and Korea.
Consciousness on accepting foreign tourists

Japan

FranceKorea

Foreign tourists are very important for our country and it is necessary to increase them even more
Foreign tourists are very important for our country but there is no need of increasing the number offoreign tourists any more
Foreign tourists are very important for our country but it is necessary to reduce the number offoreign tourists, because problems may be caused
Foreign tourists are not important for our country
Foreign tourists have a negative effect on our country

Note: Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment,” Japan Tourism Agency(Reference) Number of foreign tourists (2008: Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO))
Japan: 8.35 million (28th place: 6.79 million in 2009)
France: 78.45 million (1st place)
Korea: 6.89 million (34th place)16

Looking at reasons for thinking the acceptance of foreign tourists as important, “the increase
in tourist incomes leads to a thriving economy” was the most popular answer. As for Japan,
69.5% chose this answer, then 47.3% chose “international exchanges lead to deepened mutual
understanding”. In Korea, “Fans who understand the culture will increase and the brand valueof Korea will be heightened” marked a high answer ratio (51.4%) compared to Japan (20.8%)
and France (11.7%).
Importance of accepting foreign tourists
International exchanges lead to deepened
mutual understanding
The increase in tourist incomes leads to a thriving economy

Making the streets lively and activating the local areas

Heightening the desire to travel overseas

Improving the hospitality of each person
Fans who understand the culture will increase
and the brand image will be heightened
Signs for guidance are developed and it becomes easier to live
There are more important points
There is no important point

Japan(N=1000)

FranceKorea(N=1000)

Notes:
1. Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment,” Japan Tourism Agency
2. Up to two applicable answers

17

(ⅱ)Problems in the acceptance of foreign tourists
Looking at problems in the acceptance of foreign tourists, many chose the answers
concerning security in Japan and Korea such as “security will deteriorate and crime may
increase,” and “troubles may occur in the local communities due to the difference of languages
and cultures.” On the other hand, in France, less than 1% chose this answer. Although France
accepts more foreign tourists than any other country in the world, “there is not any problem”
was the most popular answer (48.6%), then “tourist spots and accommodations will be crowded
because of the increase in foreign tourists” (25.9%).
Problems in the acceptance of foreign tourists
Security may deteriorate and crime may increase
Troubles may occur in the local communities dueto the differences of languages and cultures
Signs become difficult to read if they are
written in many languages
Atmosphere and services of accommodations change andit becomes difficult to travel in the country
Unique culture may be lost
Tourist spots and accommodations may be crowded
because of the increase in foreign tourists
There are other problems
There is not any problem

Japan(N=1000)

FranceKorea(N=1000)

Notes:
1. Based on “FY2009 International Comparative Survey on Travel Environment,” Japan Tourism Agency
2. Up to two applicable answers

18

3

Future course of efforts
The standard of the number of tourist overnight trips and the number of stays is low inJapan compared to other countries. In particular, the number of family trips is about as half asthat of France and Korea, which were targets of this survey. The status of vacation taking is not
sufficient either in comparison with European countries. Even if a vacation is taken, the ratioof days used for travel in the vacation days is fewer than the standard of France and Korea.
The amount of consumption on domestic travel in FY2008 was 20.5 trillion yen (overnight
trip 15.6 trillion yen and day trip 4.9 trillion yen). The usage of annual paid vacation is low inJapan, and many travel during long holiday seasons such as the golden week and three-day
weekends combining public holidays and Saturday and Sunday. The consumption on travel
concentrates in the seasons when the travel cost is high and tourist destinations andtransportations are extremely crowded. It is necessary to make efforts for equalizing thedemand for travel. In addition, the number of family trips remains low, and there is asignificant difference of the number of family trips with junior high school/high school students
from France and Korea. Taking into account the fact that the number of family trips remains
high in France regardless of the age of children, it is important to make efforts with the aim ofdisseminating the family trip in the people’s life as a precious opportunity to strengthen thefamily tie through parent-child interactions.
On the other hand, people often use accommodations such as hotels and inns rather thanfamily’s/friend’s home, and the usage of public transportations such as train and airplane ishigher. Therefore, a wider ripple effect on the consumption on travel is expected than France
and Korea. It is possible to greatly contribute to the vitalization of local economy by drawing
out attractions of Japanese tourism and by stimulating potential demand for tourism, because
more subjects selected the answers “relaxation and healing” and “joy of travel itself and food”
with respect to what they expect on travel compared to France and Korea. Under such current
status, as a necessary system to increase tourist travels in Japan, many subjects selected
systems related to vacation taking and decentralization of vacation, and support for family trip.
This is thought to be attributable to the background that travel is concentrated in particularseasons and the number of family trips remains low. Further analyses are required to promote
efforts.
In order to draw out the maximum potential of Japanese tourism, it is important to develop
tourist destinations and travel products that respond to various needs in a detailed way such as
family trip and long-stay trip and to address the creation of an environment in which the people
can travel easier by improving systems related to vacation by comprehensive efforts of parties
concerned.

19Part II Status of Tourism and Tourism Measures in FY2009
Chapter 1 Current Status of Tourism
Section 1 Trends in Tourism by the Japanese Public
1

Trends in domestic overnight trips by the Japanese public(1) Overview of domestic overnight tourist travel
The frequency of overnight domestic trips per capita of the Japanese population in FY2009 isestimated to have been 1.42 times, a decrease of 6.0% on a year-to-year basis. Meanwhile, thenumber of overnight stays on domestic trips per capita is estimated to be at 2.31 nights, adecrease of 2.1% on a year-to-year basis.
Changes in the frequency of domestic overnight trips and the number of overnight stays(Times,nights)(Provisional value)

Number of overnight stays per capita
Number of domestic overnight trips per capita

2003

2004

2005

(Provisional value)

2006

2007

2008

2009(FY)

Note: Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, “Travel and Tourism
Consumption Trend Survey”(2) General status of overnight trips
In January 2007, we started the “Overnight Trip Statistics Survey (general statistics),” which
is 1) conducted under the national uniform standards, 2) aimed at all prefectures, and 3) used
to survey data such as the number of guests staying in all hotels, inns and simple guesthouses
with ten or more employees. According to the results of the survey, the total number ofovernight guests between January and December 2009 was 292.95 million guest/nights overall,of which the total number of Japanese guests was 275.2 million guest/nights.
In terms of individual months, August was the busiest with 30.81 million guests while April
was the quietest with 20.1 million. In addition, all months except September marked a negative
growth on a year-to-year basis due to the economic recession continuing from 2008 except
September in which the number increased because of the silver week boom.

20

Total Number of Japanese Overnight Guests by Month (2009)(10,000 guest for nights)

Total number of Japanese overnight guests
Year-to-year basis(month)Notes:
1. Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, “Overnight Trip Statistics
Survey”
2. The values do not reflect data of newly built and closed facilities in the year so that the definite values
may change slightly

2

Trends in overseas travel by the Japanese public(1) Change in the number of overseas travelers
The number of Japanese nationals traveling overseas in 2009 was around 15.45 million.
Compared to the previous year, this represented a decrease of around 540,000 or 3.4% becauseof the influence of the global recession on Japan and the expansion of the new influenza virus,
although it turned to a recovery trend after August thanks to the strong yen and the abolitionof fuel surcharges.

21

Changes in the number of Japanese Nationals Traveling Overseas(thousand)Number of Japanese nationals traveling overseas
Number of foreign tourists visiting Japan
1969 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09(year)

Note: Created by the Japan Tourism Agency, from data provided by the Justice Ministry and the Japan National
Tourist Organization (JNTO)

22

3

Consciousness trends and actual status concerning travel, etc., among the Japanese public
The sectors in which most respondents wanted to place priority in their future lives were
“Leisure and recreational lifestyle,” cited by 33.9%, followed by “Income” and “Assets/savings”
in that order.
Priorities for Future Life

Leisure and recreational life style
IncomeAssets/savings
Self development/capacity building
Diet
LivingConsumer durables such as automobiles,
electronic products and furniture
Clothes
OthersSurvey in June 2009(N=6,252, M.T.=198.1%)
Survey in June 2008 (N=6,146, M.T.=201.9%)

Nothing

Survey in July 2007 (N=6,086, M.T.=191.8%)

I don’t know

Note: Source: Government PR Office, Minister’s Secretariat, Cabinet Office, “Public Opinion Survey on the
National Way of Life”

Section 2 Trends in Visits to Japan by Foreign Tourists
1

Trends in overnight trips of foreign tourists
According to the results of the “Overnight Trip Statistics Survey,” the total number of foreign
guests between January and December 2009 was 17.78 million guest/nights. By prefecture andcountry or region of origin, it is described as follows. This table shows that many of thosevisiting Hokkaido and Hokuriku were from Taiwan, and many visiting Tokyo and Kyoto werefrom America, and many visiting Kyushu were from Korea.

23

Composition Ratios of All Foreign Nationals Making Overnight Stays, by Prefecture and byCountry or Region of Origin (2009)
Hokkaido
Aomori
Iwate
Miyagi
Akita
Yamagata
Fukushima
IbarakiTochigi
Gunma
Saitama
Chiba
Tokyo
Kanagawa
NiigataToyamaIshikawa
Fukui
Yamanashi
NaganoGifu
Shizuoka
Aichi
Mie
Shiga
Kyoto
Osaka
Hyogo
Nara
Wakayama
Tottori
Shimane
Okayama
Hiroshima
Yamaguchi
Tokushima
KagawaEhime
Kochi
Fukuoka
Saga
Nagasaki
Kumamoto
Oita
MiyazakiKagoshima
Okinawa

TaiwanSouth Korea

Hong Kong

China

United States

EuropeSingapore

ThailandAustralia

Others

Notes:
1. Source: Japan Tourism Agency, MLIT “Overnight Trip Statistics Survey”
2. “Foreign nationals” are visitors who do not have an address in Japan
3. “Europe” consists of Germany, the UK and France
4. The values do not reflect data of newly added/closed facilities in the year and the definite values maychange slightly
24

(2) Number of travelers and their nationalities
The number of foreign travelers to Japan in 2009 was 67.9 million (18.7% decrease from theprevious year), a sharp decrease from the previous year due to the global economic recession
continuing from 2008, continuous appreciation of the yen and the influence of expansion of the
new influenza virus.
In terms of the number of foreign travelers by continent, 4.81 million people visited from Asia
(70.9%), then 880,000 from North America (12.9%), 800,000 from Europe (11.8%) and 250,000(3.6%) from Oceania.
Proportions of Foreign Travelers Visiting Japan from Top 12 Countries
by Country/Region of Origin (2009)
Oceania
3.6%(246,000)
North America
12.9%(875,000)Rest of Europe
5.4% (36,700)
Australia
3.1% (212,000)
France2.1% (141,000)
Canada
2.2% (153,000)

Others0.8%(55,000)

Europe11.8%(800,000)

Asia
70.9%
(481,400)

Germany
1.6% (111,000)

South Korea
23.4% (158,700)

UK
2.7% (181,000)

USA
10.3% (700,000)

Total
67.9 million

Taiwan
15.1% (102,400)

Rest of Asia
6.3% (425,000)
Singapore
2.1% (145,000)
Thailand2.6% (178,000)

China
14.8% (100,600)

Hong Kong
6.6% (450,000)

Notes:
1. Inner circle: Totals by continent
Outer circle: Totals by country or region
2. Prepared by the Japan Tourism Agency based on data provided by the Justice Ministry and the Japan Tourist
Organization (JNTO)

25

2

Trends in international conventions
In 2003, Japan hosted 280 international conferences, the largest number in Asia, but in 2006,
this fell to 166, putting Japan in the 4th place in Asia behind Singapore, China and South
Korea. However, the number increased significantly to 448 in 2007 and 575 in 2008, putting
Japan in the second place in Asia (4th place in the world).
Although the conventional statistics standards for international conferences were relaxed,
the number of international conferences held in 2008 is estimated to be 241 according to thestandards for target values set out in “the Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan.”
Section 3 Economic Effects of Travel on Japan as a Whole

1

Economic effects in FY2008(1) Current status of travel consumption
The value of domestic travel consumption by the Japanese public in FY2008 was 15.6 trillion
yen for overnight trips (an increase of 2.0% from the previous fiscal year) and 4.9 trillion yen for
day trips (a decrease of 0.5% from the previous fiscal year).
The value of travel consumption by foreign visitors to Japan was 1.3 trillion yen (a decreaseof 10.1% from the previous fiscal year) because of the decrease in the number of foreign visitors.
The total value of domestic travel consumption in Japan was 23.6 trillion yen (an increase of
0.3% from the previous fiscal year).
Market Breakdown of Domestic Travel Consumption of 23.6 Trillion Yen
Foreign visitors to Japan
1.3 Trillion yen (5.7%)
Overseas trips(domestic portions)
1.7 trillion yen (7.2%)

Overnight trips
15.6 Trillion yen (66.2%)

Day trip
4.9 Trillion yen (20.9%)

Note:
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, MLIT, “Travel and Tourism Consumption Trend Survey”

26

(2) Economic effects of travel on Japan as a whole
The direct economic effects on the Japanese economy due to the aforementioned domestic
travel consumption of 23.6 trillion yen in FY2008 are estimated as a direct added value
generation effect of 11.5 trillion yen (2.3% of gross domestic product (nominal GDP)) and an
employment generation effect of 2.2 million workers (3.4% of the total number of workers).
In addition, the production diffusion effect of this travel consumption, including indirect
effects, is estimated at 51.4 trillion yen (5.3% of the value of domestic production), the added
value generation effect at 26.5 trillion yen (5.3% of gross domestic production (nominal GDP)),and the employment generation effect of 4.3 million workers (6.7% of the total number ofworkers).
(3) Economic effects of travel on Japanese industries
The travel consumption in Japan has a direct economic effect on tourism/tourism relatedindustries and a production diffusion effect on various industries in Japan by stimulating thefamily consumption by employees of travel/travel-related industries.
Economic effects by industry (FY2008)
Travelconsumption
Food industry
1.59 trillion yen
Agriculture, forestry
and fishing
0.23 trillion yen

Production diffusion
effectFood industry
3.63 trillion yen
Agriculture, forestry
and fishing
1.12 trillion yen

51.4
Trillion yen

Transportation industry
8.02 trillion yen

Lodging industry

23.6
3.7 trillion yen
Trillion yen

Transportation industry
6.23 trillion yen

Retail industry
2.47 trillion yen

Retail industry
1.36 trillion yen

Employment
generation effectCatering industry
2.48 trillion yen

Travel services
industry, etc.
1.52 trillion yen

Food industry
190,000 workers
Agriculture, forestry
and fishing
428,000 workers

Lodging industry
3.82 trillion yen

4,300,000
workers

Transportation industry
440,000 workers

Catering industry
2.87 trillion yen

Travel services
industry, etc.
1.94 trillion yen

Retail industry
533,000 workers

Lodging industry
381,000 workers

Catering industry
608,000 workers

Travel services
industry, etc.
176,000 workers

Note:
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, MLIT “Survey IX on Economic Effects on the Travel/Tourism Industries”

27Section 4 State of Tourism in Prefectures According to the Overnight Trip Statistics Survey
1

Current status of the number of guests(1) Total number of guests by prefecture
Viewing the total number of guests by prefecture in 2009, Tokyo was in the 1st place with
33.51 million guest/nights (11.4%), Hokkaido in the 2nd place with 23.68 million (8.1%) andChiba in the 3rd place with 15.08 million (5.1%), these three prefectures account for about aquarter of the total.
Total Number of Overnight Guests by Prefecture (2009)Tokyo
Hokkaido
Chiba
Osaka
Shizuoka
Okinawa
Kanagawa
NaganoAichi
Fukuoka
Kyoto
Hyogo
Fukushima
NiigataMiyagi
Tochigi
Gunma
Ishikawa
Mie
Kumamoto
Hiroshima
Kagoshima
Oita
Nagasaki
Yamanashi
Iwate
Yamagata
Okayama
Gifu
Wakayama
Aomori
Yamaguchi
Akita
Saitama
IbarakiToyamaShiga
Miyazaki
Ehime
KagawaFukui
ShimaneSaga
Kochi
Tottori
TokushimaNara(10,000 guest for nights)
Notes:
1. Source: Japan Tourism Agency, MLIT “Overnight Trip Statistics Survey”
2. The values do not reflect data of newly added/closed facilities in the year and the definite values maychange slightly

Section 5 Trends of Tourism in the World
According to the estimation by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the total numberof foreign tourists accepted by all countries in 2008 was 922.4 million (2.0% increase from theprevious year) and the total revenue of international travel of all countries was 944.3 billion
dollars (10.1% increase from the previous year), both of which continued to increase from theprevious year and marked a record high.
In recent years, the number of foreign tourists accepted by the Asia Pacific region (1.2%
increase from the previous year) which has experienced a rapid increase of the number offoreign tourists was lower than the world average (2.0% increase from the previous year),although it was higher than the increase rate in the Europe region (0.3% increase from theprevious year). However, the growth rate of the international travel revenue of the Asia Pacificregion is high (10.3% increase over the previous year), so that it is a good opportunity for Japan28

to make efforts for realizing a tourism nation by promoting the visit by foreign tourists who
visit neighboring countries to Japan.
Chapter 2 Creating Attractive, Internationally Competitive Tourist Locations
Section 1 Creating Attractive, International Competitive Tourist Locations
1

Providing quality services that draw on the characteristics of tourist locations throughcollaboration between local public bodies, tourism businesses and other parties concerned(1) “The Tourism Spheres Development Implementation Plan” of 14 regions was newly accredited in
FY2009 in addition to the plan of 16 regions accredited in FY2008 based on the “Act on Promote
Visits and Stays by Tourists Through the Development of Tourism Spheres” in order to promote
the formation of tourism spheres that will encourage tourism involving at least two overnightstays by the collaboration among wide parties concerned in local areas. In addition, 29 areas
were selected for “the Assistance System for Tourism Spheres Development Project” that
supports efforts by the private sector integrally and comprehensively.
(2) We held “explanatory meetings of attractive travel products proposed by local areas” to further
promote attractive travel products utilizing resources unique to local areas by offering a place
for matching local areas and travel agencies.
2

Developing hotel facilities, restaurant facilities, information facilities and other travel-related
and public facilities(1) Treasury loans and special tax exemption measures have been made available for thedevelopment of hotels and inns.
(2) “Grants for urban development” have been used to support a wide variety of projects, both “hard”
and “soft.”(3) Our development of travel-related and public facilities includes the development of street
environments such as unique district development, scenic modification to the exteriors of
housing, etc., undergrounding of power lines, development of local facilities such as roads andparks, development of a town environments such as the maintenance of visually importantbuildings, and road improvement taking accounting of scenic views.
Section 2 Creating Attractive Tourist Locations that Draw on Local Characteristics by Using
Tourism Resources
1

We are promoting the protection of the national treasures, important cultural and otherproperties, and the world cultural heritages, as well as the promotion of the national trust
movement.

2

We are promoting measures to protect, nurture and develop tourism resources connected withhistorical features such as the conservation of historical features in Kyoto and other ancient
capitals and development of the Asuka area, particularly the Asuka/Heijo Palace Historical
National Government Park.

3

We strive to protect, nurture and develop tourism resources related to natural scenic beauties
such as the national and quasi-national parks, the world national heritage areas and otherplaces of outstanding natural beauty

4

We strive to protect, nurture and develop tourism resources related to natural beauty bysupporting efforts, mainly the preservation and utilization of visually significant buildings andtrees, based on “the Landscape Act” under the “Landscape Formation Comprehensive Support
Project.”29

5

We have taken steps to protect, nurture and develop tourism resources related to hot springsand other cultures/industries, etc.
Section 3 Comprehensive Development of Transport Facilities Necessary to Promote Visits
by Tourists
We have promoted the development of international transport facilities such as the Haneda
International Airport and the development of Shinkansen highs-speed railways, expressways,
etc.
Chapter 3 Strengthening the International Competitiveness of the Tourism Industry andDeveloping Human Resources to Contribute to the Promotion of Tourism
Section 1 Strengthening the International Competitiveness of the Tourism Industry
We implemented projects to demonstrate improvement of the room occupancy ratio andsharing/streamlining of works, and extracted issues and sorted them out to disseminate thoseprojects as a new business model.
In addition, we held seminars and dispatched advisors to support the facial renewal of hotel
streets.
Section 2 Developing Human Resources to Contribute to the Promotion of Tourism

1

Development of Human Resources that Support the Competitive Tourism Industry(1) Enhancing higher education by the industry-government-academia collaboration
In developing human resources in the tourism field, the Japan Tourism Agency has held
“Industry-government-academia Practical Working Group on Tourism Management Education”
since September 2009 to verify the adequacy of a “draft curriculum model for developing
tourism management human resources” through public lectures utilizing it and a possibility ofapplying the draft model to adult education.
In addition, “the Working Group on the Utilization of Internship” was held in order toenhance and disseminate the content of internship education.
Based on the discussions at the two working groups, the fifth “Review Meeting on
Industry-government-academia Collaboration for Tourism-related Human Resources
Development” was held in March 2010 to deliberate among parties concerned on how todisseminate the tourism management education and further strengthen theindustry-government-academia collaboration.
(2) Strengthening tourism management
In order to develop human resources that involve in the business management of hotels, inns,
etc., and regional management, the JTA provided the support for developing a program tonurture management specialists in tourist spots. As an achievement of such efforts, the courses“Service Management” and “Hospitality Management” were opened in the MBA course of
graduate schools, and we deliberated on a particular system of the industry-academia
collaboration for the purpose of following up the said courses.
2

Developing human resources that play a role in developing attractive tourism areas“Tourism Charisma Classes,” which aim to develop human resources that will take care ofpromoting local tourism, were held in 8 districts.
In addition, in order to promote efforts for developing human resources that are responsible
for autonomous and sustainable development of tourism destination by each district, the“Review Meeting on Human Resources Development Guidelines for Formation of Tourist
30

Destination” was held and “draft guidelines on human resources development for formation of
tourist destination” were formulated. Moreover, a “website for supporting the development of
human resources that are responsible for developing tourist areas” was opened in March 2010
to share information among districts.
3

Developing generations that take care of districts and tourism in the future
The JPO has promoted “tourism nation education” in collaboration with parties concerned byawarding the Commissioner prize for efforts such as “the National Tourism Nation Education
Contest” and “the Tourism Koshien” held under collaboration among education officials andtourism-related organizations, and by providing introducing tourism supplementary readingmaterials made by Miyagi, Yamagata, Miyazaki, Okinawa prefectures.
Chapter 4 Promoting International Tourism
Section 1 Encouraging Visits by Foreign Tourists

1

Prioritized and effective PR on the attraction of tourism in Japan(1) Overseas PR on the attraction of tourism in Japan(ⅰ) Overview of the Visit Japan Campaign
The increase of foreign tourists supplements diplomacy among the nations by enhanced
mutual understanding through opportunities for the Japanese and foreigners to exchange,
contributes to the safety guarantee, and has effects of vitalizing local economies and creating
job opportunities due to the increase of influx of the people from neighboring countries where
the economy is rapidly growing under problems such as a falling population caused by the
declining birthrate and aging population.
Therefore, the government and the private sector have integrally promoted “the Visit Japan
Campaign” that disseminates the attraction of Japanese tourism in overseas and supports thecreation of visit-Japan travel products. The number of foreign
tourists visiting Japan was 5.21 million in 2003 when thiscampaigned started and it has steadily increased since then.
However, the number decreased significantly to 6.79 million in2009 due to the global economic recession continuing from the fall2008, a recent appreciation of the yen, and the epidemic of the
new influenza virus since the spring 2009.
December 2009
Advertisement on tram
(street car) in Hong Kong(ⅱ) Projects in the Visit Japan Campaign

Twelve countries and regions (South Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore,
USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France and Australia) where foreign tourists visiting Japan are
expected to increase have been identified as priority markets. There, we have implemented PR
activities to promote the trip to Japan.
Meanwhile, India, Russia and Malaysia have been identified as promising markets forpromotion since FY2007, and market surveys were conducted. The results show that thedemand for trip to Japan will be expected to increase, so that they have been identified aspriority markets since FY2010.
In addition, six countries and one region (Italia, Spain, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam,
Mexico and the Gulf nations) have been identified as promising markets since FY2009 andstrategic market surveys are being conducted to implement effective promotion.
As contents of projects to promote the travel of foreign tourists to Japan, we have usedmeasures such as invitation of foreign media to Japan, support for their coverage,
advertisement on TV commercials in overseas, information provision by the website andexhibitions on the travel expo held in other countries. The purpose of those projects are toheighten the interest in Japan as a tourist destination, increase the demand for the travel to31

Japan, support for creating and selling attractive visit-Japan travel products through theinvitation of persons in charge of foreign travel agencies to Japan and business negotiations
with Japanese travel agencies, and attract the educational trip to Japan for expanding
exchanges of the young generation.
(2) Transmission of information at foreign bases
The Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) has set up 13 overseas offices and actively
implemented activities for the purpose of publicizing and promoting the attraction of tourism inJapan, supporting the creation and sales of visit-Japan travel products to local travel agencies,
providing consultation services to local public bodies and private businesses in Japan, and mostimportantly contributing to “the Visit Japan Campaign” to increase the number of foreign
tourists visiting Japan.
In addition, the JNTO operates a portal site of information on the travel to Japan in 9
languages to increase the degree of recognition of Japan as a tourist destination and support
visitors to Japan in creating travel plans and making various bookings.
Various PR cultural projects have been held at diplomatic missions such as embassies andConsulate generals in addition to holding “The Visit Japan Campaign Promotion Local
Committee” has been held with the top of the diplomatic mission as its chairman, exhibiting at
the travel expo and travel fairs held in other countries, holding lectures under the themes
related to tourism at an ambassador’s/consul general’s residence or a PR cultural center.
Moreover, the JNTO has made efforts to comprehensively introduce the traditions and modern
cultures of Japan, state-of-the-art technologies, beautiful natural beauty, the attraction of rural
areas through local mass media and the Internet.
(3) Overseas PR on local attractions
Each Regional Transport Bureau, etc., implement “the Visit Japan Campaign regional
projects” in collaboration with local public bodies and others.
(4) Besides the efforts mentioned above, the JNTO has promoted the dissemination of culture byartists and cultural figures, and the dissemination of information on Japanese food, Japanese
ingredients, pop culture and Japanese contents, and the strengthening of information provision
through networking and international broadcasting.
2

Providing information on the cost of domestic transport, accommodation and other aspects of
tourist travel(1) Providing information on travel costs
As efforts in line with “the Visit Japan Year,” a winter campaign (January to March 2010)
was implemented for a limited time to provide foreign tourists who came to Japan during that
period with discounted products. In order to increase the effectiveness of this campaign, thewinter campaign has been continuously publicized to implement PR activities for reasonable
travel to Japan in all markets of the “Visit Japan Campaign” since the summer 2009.
(2) Promoting measures to encourage information provision by public transport businesses, etc.
Under the “Foreign Tourist Visit Promotion Act,” in areas that are used with particularfrequency by foreign tourists, public transport businesses (247 businesses as of April 2009) andothers are implementing the “projects for measures to encourage the provision of information”
in foreign languages.
3

Promoting the convening of international conferences and other international scale events
The number of international conferences held in Japan increased from 448 in 2007 to 575 in
2008. Although Japan could not reach Singapore (637) to assume the 1st place in Asia, it
32

ascended from the 5th to the 4th place in the world. Various efforts have borne fruits. However,competitors in Asia such as Singapore and South Korea, the United States and Australia are
actively promoting not only international conferences but also the entire MICE (Meeting,
Incentive travel, Convention, Event/Exhibition). Thus, it is also necessary for Japan to promote
not only international conferences but also the entire MICE, because those events other thaninternational conferences have a great significance for the increase of foreign tourists visiting
Japan, economic effects and internationalization/vitalization of local areas.
To this end, “the MICE Promotion Action Plan” which summarizes particular roles thegovernment and related bodies should play, the content of activities and terms thereof wasformulated in July 2009. This Action Plan states that the government and related bodies shallcollaborate to promote MICE. Therefore, “the MICE Promotion Council” consisting of the headsof MICE related organizations was established in December 2009 to further strengthen thecollaboration among parties concerned.
*MICE is an abbreviation of Meetings by businesses, Incentive/seminar travels by businesses, international
Conventions, Events/Exhibitions

4

Developing an environment to accept foreign tourists such as the improvement of measuresrelated to immigration of foreign tourists, improvement of translator guidance services andothers(1) Expeditious and smooth visa issuance procedures
The visit-Japan visa issuance is facilitated by issuing a visa within 5 working days from theapplication. In addition, 63 countries and regions are subject to the visa waiver program fortourists.
In China, about 378,000 visas were issued for group trip in 2009, about 8% increase over theprevious year. The issuance of visa to individuals who have economic resources has been
permitted since July 2009 in response to the request for freer travel with a small group.
While the visa issuance will be further facilitated, immigration officers will be increased andthe visa examination system will be updated in order to prevent the illegal stay.
(2) Expeditious and smooth immigration procedures
We have strived to reduce the time required for immigration procedures at the arrival bydispatching immigration officials to local airports and ports where no immigration officials are
stationed and effectively utilizing “the secondary examination” and “the Advanced Passenger
Information System (APIS)” that prevent the delay of examination of other passengers by
examining a passenger whose purpose of visit is suspicious in another room at the time oflanding examination. In addition, efforts were made to reduce the waiting time for arrival
examination at an arriving port by conducting the examination on shipboard before arriving ina port in the case of ocean-going cruise ships with more than 2,000 passengers.
(3) In addition, we strive to develop tourist information offices for foreign tourists, enhance thelicensed guide system and disseminate volunteer guides.
(4) We strive to promote the improvement of guidance for foreigners at museums, art museums,
national theaters, national parks, etc.
Section 2 Promoting Global Interchange
1

Promoting cooperation with governments of other nations(1) Strengthening trilateral tourism exchanges and cooperation between Japan, China and SouthKorea
The 4th China-Japan-Korea Tourism Ministerial Meeting and related events were held in33

Aichi prefecture and Gifu prefecture in October 2009, and a joint announcement was issued forthe purpose of further promoting tourism exchanges and cooperation between the three
countries.
In addition, the 5th China-Japan-Korea Tourism Ministerial Meeting will be held in China in
September 2010 to continue to strengthen tourism exchanges and cooperation between thethree countries.
(2) Promoting efforts for bilateral tourism exchanges(ⅰ) Promotion of tourism exchanges between Japan and Korea
In the “24th Japan-Korea Tourism Promotion Council” held in Korea in December 2009,
opinions on the promotion and expansion of tourism exchanges between the two countries were
exchanged. Japan and Korea agreed to intensively implement projects and large-scale events
for activating tourism exchanges through a wide variety of fields such as arts/cultures
including movies/dramas by setting the year 2010 as “Visit Japan Year” in Japan and the years
from 2010 to 2012 as “Visit Korea Years” in Korea.
(ⅱ) Commencement of the tourist visa system for individuals in China
The number of Chinese tourists using the visit-Japan visa system for group trip has steadily
increased. In addition, the issuance of tourist visa for individuals apart from “group trip”
started at foreign diplomatic missions in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou since July 2009 in
response to the request for a freer travel with a small group if they satisfy certain
requirements.
( ⅲ ) Japan-Hong Kong tourism exchange year commemorative
projects
We set the year 2009 as “the Japan-Hong Kong Tourism
Exchange Year” and promoted tourism exchanges between Japanand Hong Kong by “the opening ceremony” held in Hong Kong inJanuary 2009, creation of joint logo/posters, and the joint
exhibition at the International Travel Expo Hong Kong. However,taking into account the situation that the number of visitors
between the two countries decreased significantly in May andJune due to the epidemic of the new influenza virus, the Tourism
Exchange Year was extended to March 31, 2010 and PR activities
on the travel to Japan were implemented at the “Chinese New
Year Parade.”

Commemorative poster of
the Japan-Hong Kong
Tourism Exchange Year

(3) We provided support for international tourism promotion throughthe UNWTO and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) andtourism promotion in developing countries.
2

Promoting regional exchanges between Japan and other countries(1) Promoting overseas travel by Japanese citizens
In order to promote the overseas trip of the young generation, we implemented efforts suchas an awareness survey on overseas travel, analysis of factors that inhibit overseas travel andholding of symposia in collaboration with tourism-related parties.
(2) Making use of sister and friendship city agreements
Sister and friendship city exchange projects are being implemented via the “Visit Japan
Campaign regional collaboration projects.”
34

3

Promoting international youth exchanges(1) Promoting educational trips to Japan
The “National Council for the Promotion of Educational Trips to Japan,” a joint
public-private sector organization, promoted efforts to encourage educational trips to Japan.
(2) Promoting exchanges with young people from other countries
Young people from other countries have been invited to Japan to take part in a variety of
exchange projects. In particular, a total of 7,500 young people were invited from East Asian
countries in FY2009 based on the “21st Century East Asia Youth Exchange Plan.”
Chapter 5 Improving the Environment for Encouraging Tourist Travel
Section 1 Making Tourist Travel Easier and Smoother1

Encouraging holiday taking
To advance specific considerations on the promotion of holiday taking, etc., a questionnaire
survey was conducted to analyze the actual status of holidays of parents and children, and therecognition of the nation on vacation. In addition, the “Vacation Symposium” was held in
February 2010 to discuss the changes in awareness on vacation, issues concerning methods oftaking vacations and specific measures from a viewpoint of economy, industry, work andeducation, etc., and dissemination and awareness-raising activities of the vacation reform were
implemented.

2

Easing the concentration of demand for tourist travel in specific seasons
Holidays of elementary and junior high schools are being made flexible, through measures
such as setting holidays that draw on unique features of the region, autumn holidays, two-term
system, school holidays linked to local events, and so on.
The “Working Team on Vacation Decentralization” was established under the Tourism Nation
Promotion Headquarters in December 2009 to promote the decentralization of vacation taking
that have various effects such as the reduction of travel costs by equalizing the demand for
tourist travel, the improvement of productivity of the tourism industry and the stabilization of
employment integrally and comprehensively by the government. The related ministries andagencies advanced the consideration.

3

Protecting the interests of consumers in connection with tourism
The method of displaying fuel surcharges was changed. In addition, a guidance was provided
for the appropriate application of “the fair competition convention on the display of travel
souvenirs” in order to secure fair competition of travel souvenirs.

4

We strived to enhance public understanding of the significance of tourism by holding the “Travel
Fair 2009” and the “JATA World Travel Fair 2009” and others.
Section 2 Improving Hospitality Towards Tourists

1

Developing facilities related to travel
In order to develop easy-to-understand signboards in tourist areas, we strived to diffuse andpublicize the “Guidelines for Signboards to Revitalize Tourism,” and demonstration
experiments were conducted to verify which guidance display model is more convenient forforeigners taking into account a situation that foreign tourists from China, Taiwan and Korea
35

are increasing in recent years.
2

We strived to promote regional brands by enhancing the introductions to Japan’s outstanding
traditional food culture as well as other aspects of Japan’s lifestyle culture and industries,
developing attractive products that harness national or regional characteristics, andimplementing the “VJC Attractive Souvenirs of Japan Contest 2010.”
Section 3 Enhancing Convenience for Tourists

1

Developing travel-related facilities so that the elderly or disabled, foreigners and other tourists
who require special consideration may use them smoothly, and improving the convenience of
these facilities(1) As well as promoting barrier-free conversion for travel-related facilities and others, we drew up
the check sheets for planning and creating travel products to promote tourism based on therationale of universal design.
(2) We strived to increase the efficiency of road transport by expanding the information provision
range of the Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS).
2

We promoted the provision of information on tourism using information and communications
technologies by providing the “Online Land Web System” and by introducing a parking guidancesystem that provides users with information such as the location of parking and its availability.
Section 4 Ensuring the Safety of Tourist Travel1

As well as providing meteorological and other information, we promoted the provision of
information on the state of occurrence of accidents, disasters, etc., in tourist locations both inJapan and abroad, by for example rigorously informing of disaster-prone areas, evacuation sites
and evacuation routes, etc.

2

We addressed issues such as preventing the occurrence of accidents during tourist travel,
including safety measures for public transport, road/marine transport and hotel facilities,
response to accidents or incidents overseas and safety measures for the same.

3

The “Countermeasure Manual for Harmful Rumors of Infectious Diseases in Tourism-related
Industries” was established concerning measures the parties concerned should take at the timeof occurrence of infectious diseases in the future such as providing accurate information to
Japan and other countries to raise awareness of the parties concerned, as travel-relatedindustries were severely damaged after the new influenza virus was found in May 2009 by theincrease in cancel of tours, etc.
Section 5 Opening Up New Fields of Tourist Travel
In order to support community-based efforts related to new tourism such as green tourism
and eco tourism in each region, each Regional Transport Bureau is offering consultancy by
travel agencies and experts, supporting the implementation of monitor tours, and producing
manuals and case study collections to promote the commercialization of travel merchandise. In
addition to this, we strived to disseminate and publicize “new tourism” by holding seminars fortourism concerned parties.
Deliberations have been made on comprehensive promotion measures of various menus suchas eco tourism, green tourism, culture tourism, industrial tourism, medical tourism, sports
tourism, etc., by the collaboration of related ministries and agencies in the “Tourism
Collaboration Consortium” established under the Tourism Nation Promotion Headquarters
since January 2010.

36

Section 6 Conserving Environments and Scenic Views in Tourist Locations
In addition to preserve environments in tourist locations, we are striving to protect scenic
landscapes in tourist locations, by for example promoting the application of the Landscape Act,
diffusion and publicizing its basic principles, enhancing systems related to outdoor advertisingin tourist locations, and supporting town development that harnesses history, culture and local
features.
Section 7 Developing Statistics on Tourism
1

Developing statistics on Tourism by the Japanese nation
As for the “Overnight Trip Statistics Survey,” survey items to grasp the number of occupied
rooms of hotels and inns were added to publicize the room occupancy ratio by municipality. As
for the “Travel and Tourism Consumption Trend Survey,” a method of survey was revised tograsp the annual travel ratio by the Japanese nation and the average number of trips. In
addition, the “Common Standards for Inbound Tourist Statistics” was formulated in December
2009 which specifies the standardization of survey methods and estimation methods adoptableby local public bodies for statistics related to day-trip tourists and other tourists.
In addition, in order to encourage future researchers and practitioners of tourism policies to
conduct studies, the commissioner prize of the Japan Tourism Agency was founded for“research papers on empirical analyses utilizing tourism statistics” and the awards were givenby the Commissioner in March 2010.

2

Introduction of TSA
In order to create TSA (Tourism Satellite Account) which has been widely introduced at aninternational level) to conduct international comparison of economic effects of tourism, amethod of establishing Japanese TSA in compliance with the standards for formulation(TSA:RMF08) of the UNWTO was considered, and a final report was prepared in march 2010.

37

Tourism Policy in FY2010
Chapter 1 Creating Attractive, Internationally Competitive Tourist Locations
Section 1 Creating Attractive, Internationally Competitive Tourist Locations
1

Securing the provision of quality services that harness the characteristics of tourist locations
through collaboration between local public bodies, tourist businesses and other parties
concerned(1) In order to promote the development of attractive and internationally competitive tourist
locations and the visits and stays of tourists from Japan and other countries, we provide
comprehensive support for tourism promotion efforts made integrally by parties concerned suchas private local organizations, local public bodies, tourism-related parties and local residents. In
addition, in order to support business operators that address the autonomous town development,
we provide support for establishing “town development business operators (tourism community
development platform)” on a pilot basis and for summarizing issues and solutions thereof inorganizing a system.
(2) We support the development of environments for realizing high-value added and attractive
services utilizing regional resources such as a unique industry in the region under the scheme of
the “Project for Promoting Industrial Vitalization of Regional Attraction/Exchanges.”2

Developing hotel facilities, restaurant facilities, information facilities and other travel-related
and public facilities
In order to address a further expansion of the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan,
services provided in foreign languages at hotels will be enhanced through providing necessary
information and developing human resources.
Section 2 Forming Attractive Tourist Destinations That Harness the Characteristics of a
Region by Making Use of Tourism Resources

1

Protecting, nurturing and developing tourism resources related to cultural properties
We take steps to preserve and utilize cultural assets and to promote the national trust
movement.

2

Protecting, nurturing and developing tourism resources related to areas of outstanding natural
beautyWe strive to disseminate the concept of nature protection, protect and make use ofnational/quasi national parks, conserve and manage the world natural heritage sites in an
appropriate manner.

3

Protecting, nurturing and developing tourism resources related to hot springs, other culturesand industries
In order to support efforts for conquering the handicap of remote islands located in the open
sea compared to the main islands, tourism of remote islands will be promoted by expanding the“Survey on Regional Revitalization Promotion for Island Development” implemented in FY2009
as the “Support Project of Revitalizing Remote Islands’ Energy.”
Section 3 Comprehensively Developing Transport Facilities Necessary to Encourage Visits by
Tourists
Transport facilities such as international hub airports and expressways will be developed.
38Chapter 2 Strengthening the International Competitiveness of the Tourism Industry andDeveloping Human Resources to Contribute to the Promotion of Tourism
Section 1 Strengthening the International Competitiveness of the Tourism Industry
For creating new business models of the tourism industry and facial revitalization of hotel
streets, issues and problems will be analyzed by following up the already implemented
demonstrative projects. Then, know-how thereof will be disseminated and publicized so thatthe productivity and international competitiveness of the tourism industry will be improved
and strengthened.
Section 2 Training Human Resources to Contribute to Promoting Tourism
We strive to practice the “curriculum model for developing human resources for tourism
management”
consideredinthe“Working
Groupon
Practicing
theIndustry-Government-Academia Collaboration Concerning Tourism Management Education”
at universities and disseminate the tourism management education through courses for adults.
In addition, we will address the implementation of “joint studies by collaboration between
industry and academia,” because there are needs of such studies both in the tourism industry
and in universities as found out at the “Review Meeting on Collaboration between Industry,
Government and Academia for Developing Human Resources in Tourism.”
Chapter 3 Promoting International Tourism
Section 1 Promoting Visits to Japan by Foreign Tourists
1

Prioritized and effective PR on the attraction of tourism in Japan(1) The year 2010 is set as the “Visit Japan Year” and an intensive campaign period will be set
including the provision of various discounts and benefits by cooperation of private businesses,
etc. India, Russia and Malaysia have been newly added to the priority markets where thenumber of tourists visiting Japan is expected to expand, and the visit Japan travel will bepromoted in all 15 markets to achieve the goal.
In addition, new goals for the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan after 2010 were set as
15 million by 2013 and 30 million in the future, and the “30 Million Foreign Tourists Program”
was set to achieve those goals.
In particular, a new catch phrase/logo, “Japan. Endless Discovery.” which means that “you can
encounter endless thrills in Japan,” wasintroduced from FY2010. Furthermore, a famous
idol group “Arashi” agreed to cooperate with us
voluntarily as “tourism nation navigator,” an
New catch phrase and logo of the visit Japan trip
appropriate image leader as icon of Japan.
for overseas markets(2) The Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) investigates and analyzes the latest local
needs utilizing its overseas offices and effective PR activities have been implemented in linewith each market. In FY2010, the JNTO will strengthen the transmission of information on
tourism in Japan through its website, the support for overseas media coverage to improve thedegree of recognition of Japan, the development of human resources in the overseas travelindustry, and the support for creating and selling innovative tours to exploit new demand foroverseas travel agencies.
(3) The “Japan International Content Festival (Co Festa),” which has been held for the purpose ofstrengthening the information transmission of contents in overseas, will be held as “Co Festa in
Shanghai” in June FY2010 in accordance with the Shanghai Expo. We strive to exhibit at eventsin other countries and cooperate with them.
We try to promote deeper understanding and confidence building on Japan by actively
39

utilizing Japanese pop culture which is very popular among the youth worldwide in recent
years.
(4) In order to create a business model targeting the foreign affluent people who look forhigh-quality tourism, we promote the establishment of Japanese “Luxury Travel Market.”2

Promoting the convening of international conferences and other international scale events
In order to promote not only international conferences but
also the entire MICE (meeting, incentive travel, convention,
event/exhibition), we intensively and actively appeal to theworld that Japan is an ideal place for MICE by setting the year
2010 as the “Japan MICE Year.” We will publicize thesignificance of MICE, as it is not widely understood in Japan.
A catch phrase and logo of the
In line with this, efforts for developing an environment to“Japan MICE Year.”promote MICE will be made such as human resources
development, internationalization of domestic conferences and a survey on the future course of
MICE facilities.

3

Improving measures for entry to and departure from Japan by foreign tourists, improving
interpreter-guide services, and other measures for welcoming foreign tourists(1) The visa is issued for Chinese tourists not only for a group tour but also an individual visit toJapan. The requirements for visa issuance of individual visit to Japan will be relaxed since July2010 (the visa will be issued to those who have certain positions in their occupation andeconomic resources” and applications will be accepted at all seven diplomatic missions in
mainland China, and the travel agencies that are allowed to handle the visa issuance will be
expanded from 48 to 290). In order to respond to an expected increase in applications, the visa
examination system will be organized at the embassy and the general consulates.
(2) We strengthen efforts for reducing the waiting time for landing examination at an arriving port
by providing on-shipboard examination services before the entrance to a port for ocean-goingcruise ships with more than 2,000 passengers. In addition, “examination booth concierges” whoassists in the examination procedures for entrance to and departure from Japan will be placed
effectively at airports and port where regular services are offered and the annual number ofentrants is large to further reduce the waiting time.
(3) “Review Committee on Interpreter Guides” has been held since June 2009 to review theinterpreter-guide system. A conclusion is expected to be drawn by June 2010.
Section 2 Promoting International Exchanges
As the “6th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting” will be held in September 2010 in Naraprefecture, full-fledged efforts will be made for the meeting.
In addition, tourism promotion, sustainable tourism development and development of humanresources in the tourism field will be implemented in FY2010 in cooperation with the Japan
ASEAN Center and the UNWTO (including the Asia-Pacific Center).
Chapter 4 Improving the Environment for Encouraging Tourist Travel
Section 1 Making Tourist Travel Easier and SmootherSpecific measures for the decentralization of holiday taking which is positioned as a priority
strategic field to be addressed by the entire nation will be considered at the “Working Team on
the Decentralization of Holidays.”
In addition, the “demonstrative project on the promotion of taking and decentralizing
vacations (project for enjoying family time)” will be implemented in the local areas for the40

purpose of “enjoying family time” in which the parents and their children take a rest together
by promoting the paid vacation taking in companies and flexibly setting school vacations.
Section 2 Ensuring the Safety of Tourist Travel
We provide the mayors at all levels with the support for making a judgment on evacuation. In
addition, we start to provide “Thunder now cast” and “Tornado occurrence accuracy now cast” toannounce weather warnings and advisories with indicating a name of municipality as well as
prevent and alleviate disasters caused by gusts of wind and thunders that occur locally anddeveloped rapidly.
Section 3 Opening up New Fields of Tourist Travel
The tourism department was established in thelargest international short-film festival “Short Shorts
Film Festival 2010” as a “promotion of cultural
tourism,” and productions sent from all over Japanand a film created by the Japan Tourism Agency“Heaven’s Island” will be screened in the festival toutilize them as a tool of tourism promotion.
In addition, the government and the private sector
will actively and integrally implement PR activities
A scene from “Heaven’s Island” a film createdas the “promotion of medical tourism.” To that end,by the Japan Tourism Agency
we will strive to promote comprehensively andstrategically the development of an environment for the travel and acceptance of foreign
patients as well as diversified and high-value added medical tourism tours utilizing regional
characteristics.
As the “promotion of sports tourism,” in order to further disseminate sports tourism which
realizes interactions of sports and tourism, we comprehensively implement awareness-raising
activities, various efforts for support, participation in local councils and provision of advice tothem in cooperation with related ministries and agencies.
Section 4 Protecting Environments and Scenic Views in Tourist Locations
The formation of an optimal-sized “regional cycle sphere” according to characteristics ofrecycling resources will be promoted utilizing regional characteristics. As one example of theefforts in the tourism sector, there is a project to make compost out of the leftovers from hotels
and to use agricultural products cultivated by using the compost for hotel’s menus.
Section 5 Establishing Statistics on Tourism
We will expand targets of the Overnight Trip Statistics Survey and the Travel and Tourism
Consumption Trend Survey, newly create statistics on travel consumption by foreign tourists
visiting Japan, and consider methods of survey for conducting a survey on the sales of tourism
business operators and working environment.

41