2021 TOP 100 GOOD
PRACTICE STORY
Title of the Story: Balancing tourism with measures toprevent infectious diseases and their spread
Destination Name: (include any state, province or region)
City of Kyoto
Country: Japan

Submitter name: Takashi Kanki
Email address: kaqbd418@city.kyoto.lg.jp
Position: Kyoto City Tourism & MICE OfficeNomination Category: (Please check the boxes that indicate the focus of your story)
Please find detailed information for the categories below in the Top 100 training module ‘Good
Practice Story’.
☐ Localizing the destination supply chain☐ Decarbonizing the destination supply chain☐ Culture & Communities☐ Environment & Climate☐ Nature & Ecotourism☒ Tourism Reset & Recovery

Find detailed instructions for submitting good practices in the Top 100 training module“Good Practice Story”.
Should you have any questions on your submission please refer to our FAQ page orcontact top100@greendestinations.org

DESCRIBE YOUR GOOD PRACTICE STORY
Address each aspect of your good practice story in the different sections being specific including relevant quantitativeand qualitative information.

Issues faced
With the rapid increase in the number of tourists in recent years, there have been some tourism issues such ascongestion and violation of manners in some tourist spots and transportation facilities. Furthermore, sinceJanuary 2020, with the spread of COVID-19, many countries have imposed measures such as restricting overseas
travel, with tourism demand in Japan also plummeting due to people refraining from traveling and going out. In2020, the average occupancy rate at major hotels in the city (source: Kyoto City Tourism Association data,monthly report) decreased by 45.4 percentage points from the previous year to 35.8%, putting Kyoto tourism in a
critical situation never experienced before.
In order to recover from this situation, it is necessary to ensure the safety and security of both citizens andtourists, and to prevent the reoccurrence of tourism issues such as congestion and violation of manners that
occurred before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods, steps and tools applied
In order to shift to tourism based on measures against infectious diseases and avoidance of the 3 Cs (Closedspaces, Crowded places and Close-contact settings), We have formulated guidelines for measures against
infectious diseases. Stickers were issued to businesses (11,153 in the city) promoting measures based on theguidelines in order to heighten visibility of businesses following hygiene measures.
In addition, the city, in cooperation with the private sector, has devised new manners that correspond to the styleof tourism in the age of sustainable tourism amid COVID-19 by disseminating "Kyoto Machiketto," a list of"etiquette guidelines" to follow when spending time in Kyoto. Furthermore, in order to visualize congestion insightseeing areas and encourage tourists to go to places at times when they are not congested, we have beenworking on displaying crowd forecasts by time of day and area.

Key success factors
With limitations on what the government could do on its own, we were able to quickly establish a cooperative
system with the Kyoto City Tourism Association, a DMO, as well as with industry organizations involved in tourism
and private businesses such as those in the accommodation and restaurant industries. This played an importantrole in solving problems.
In addition, the government set up an advisory team in collaboration with the tourism and public health sectors.
Instead of the two sectors working on their own, they worked together to share information and provide effective
support for infectious disease countermeasures to tourist businesses in the city used by tourists.

Lessons learned
In order to heighten visibility of hygiene measures, it was necessary for a wide range of related parties, including
restaurants and accommodation facilities, to unite and quickly implement the measures. We quickly coordinatedwith 23 industry organizations involved in Kyoto tourism to encourage each business to take action, anddistributed explanatory videos on hygiene measures to expand the number of target businesses. As forvisualization of congestion, it has become difficult to predict the degree of congestion as the situation changes
daily due to the COVID-19 disaster. So we have responded by newly installing web cameras at tourist sites todistribute real-time images of congestion. In order to attain sustainable tourism that respects the local identity, it
is important for tourists to observe good manners, as part of mutual respect with tourism businesses and citizens.
We have formulated the "Kyoto Tourism Code of Conduct" as a standard that all parties should respect.

Results, achievements and recognitions
Since the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020, efforts have been made to shift to tourism based onmeasures to prevent infectious diseases and avoidance of the 3Cs.We have formulated the "Kyoto Model for MICE
in a Society Amid COVID-19.". Leading to the hosting of Japan's first large-scale international conference in asociety amid COVI-19, the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (withapproximately 5,600 registered participants from 152 countries), from March 7 to 12, 2021.
In addition, with the disappearance of inbound demand, we are working to promote Kyoto as a safe and securecity by publicizing Kyoto's measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases to domestic tourists. In November
2020, the number of Japanese guests at major hotels exceeded that of the previous year (approximately 190,000,up 30.7%), showing a recovery.
We will continue to make efforts to realize more advanced and sustainable tourism that will respond to the strong
recovery from this crisis and the post-corona era.

Additional references【Kyoto Tourism Promotion Plan 2025】
https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sankan/page/0000282475.html【Code of Conduct for Sustainable Tourism in Kyoto】
https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sankan/page/0000277340.html【Release of "Kyoto Sightseeing Comfort Level Map】
https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sankan/page/0000277725.html【Kyoto Machiketto】
https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sankan/page/0000275559.html【The Kyoto Model for MICE in the With Corona Society (2nd Edition)】
https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sankan/page/0000284235.html