## ☑ The Effect of Cruise Ships Calling at Aomori Port

The number of times cruise ships called at Aomori Port in 2014 is the highest in the Tohoku Area with 20 ships calling, and the number of times a foreign shipping company's vessel calls at port is rapidly increasing, especially in recent years (Figure 2-1-73). In 2014, the number of ship passengers was 26,617 people, with 11,039 foreign passengers and 15,578 Japanese passengers.

According to the survey of cruise ship tourists conducted in 2014 by Aomori City, the amount of consumer spending was JPY6,840 per person for Japanese tourists and JPY8,100 per person for foreign tourists, showing that foreign tourist spent more than the Japanese tourists.

Looking at the ratio of items purchased according to each category, 36.6% of purchases by foreigners was traditional craftwork, making it the largest percentage, while for Japanese tourists, 31.0% was products related to apples and 28.8% was seafood. As the percentage of purchases were highest for Aomori Prefecture’s regional specialties for both foreign and Japanese tourists, it seems that a certain level of contribution is being made to the local economy (Figure 2-1-74).

Although not included in the amount of consumer spending in the aforementioned survey conducted by Aomori City, optional tours (local tourism) are provided when cruise ships call at port, taking advantage of the tourism resources in Aomori Prefecture such as Lake Towada and Shirokami-sanchi. Therefore it is supposed that the actual amount of consumer spending is higher, and that if the indirect effect of consumer spending on the tours is counted, the economic effects of a cruise ship coming into port is suspected to be even greater.

In this way, with the port at the center of activity, cruise ships contribute to the vitalization of the local district because of the large number of tourists visiting the area.

In order to accelerate the revitalization of the region even more through the promotion of cruises while making good use of the currently available facilities, MLIT is working on things like enhancing the functionality of passenger ship terminals, improving websites to send out harbor facilities and sightseeing information regarding the area around the port to people within and outside Japan, and using “Minato (harbor) Oasis” as a place to provide foreign cruise passengers with sightseeing information of the region.

While continuing to work on attaining the “Age of 1 Million Cruise Ship Passengers” in 2020, MLIT will continue to promote proactive programs from both non-structural and structural aspects to build up the Rural Areas through the promotion of cruises.

## (The Effect of Japanese Tourists on the Local Economy)

Of the JPY4.5 trillion domestic consumer spending on travel in 2014, which included spending by foreigners, consumer spending by Japanese on domestic travel with overnight stays was JPY14.3 trillion, and consumer spending by Japanese on domestic day travel was JPY4.5 trillion, which means over 80% of consumer spending on domestic travel was accounted for by Japanese tourists (Figure 2-1-75).

In looking at the changes in the number of overnight stays in Japan, though the total number of overnight stays for both Japanese and foreigners travellers shows a growing trend, the number of nights lodged by Japanese tourists is still the greater share than the number of nights lodged by foreigners (Figure 2-1-76). Therefore, for the local economy, it is