A tourist shortage back in Japan, too
By Chisaki Watanabe
Associated Press
TOKYO — From the observation deck of the Tokyo Tower, Michael Evans gazed down at the city, four cameras in his backpack.
"It's fascinating," said the 47-year-old visitor from England.
Evans also went shopping for computer parts in Akihabara, a center for the latest and cheapest PCs and electronic goods. He took a "bullet train" ride on the shinkan-sen scenic Kobe.
But tourists like Evans are scarce in this country.
For more than 30 years, Japan has been sending more travelers overseas than it welcomes onto its shores and the gap between the number of inbound and outbound travelers is widening. In 2001, more than 16 million Japanese traveled overseas, while the number of foreign visitors, on business, vacation or a stopover, was just short of 5 million.
Part of the problem is that Japan is an expensive place to visit. Visitors have difficulty finding their way around, with many street signs posted only in Japanese.
The decline in tourism — seen as not just missed revenues but also as something of a national embarrassment — has become serious enough for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to call on members of his government to find a solution. Earlier this year, Koizumi set a goal of doubling the number of foreign travelers to 10 million by 2010.
The travel industry welcomed his appeal.
"For a long time, tourism in Japan was, unlike in Europe and the United States, not a major industry and there was no government support," said Hirofumi Sato, general manager of Tonichi Travel Service Co. Ltd. in Tokyo.
That will soon change. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will soon embark on a $17 million "Visit Japan Campaign" to lure more foreign travelers. It has also begun conducting market research focusing on North America, China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the places most visitors to Japan come from.
The government invited 20 members of the American travel industry in March for what are called familiarization tours of well-known attractions, including hot-spring resorts and historical cities.
Koizumi's goal of 10 million visitors doesn't seem all that ambitious when one considers how many tourists visit countries that are the world's most popular destinations.
France, for example, received 75 million visitors in 2001, according to the World Tourism Organization. Other favorites such as Spain and the United States also received about 10 times more visitors than Japan did.
Japan has tried to woo tourists before — but in the other direction, urging its citizens to travel overseas. In 1987, Tokyo began a five-year campaign to increase the number of Japanese tourists going abroad from 5.5 million to 10 million, partly to reduce the trade surplus. The goal was achieved with a year to spare.
Much has changed since then and with its economy mired in a slump, Japan needs the money foreign tourists can bring. According to the estimate by the Transport Ministry, 10 million foreign travelers would create 480,000 jobs and have an economic impact worth $69 billion.
The East Asia-Pacific region is estimated to post annual growth in tourist arrivals of 7.7 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to the World Tourism Organization. But Japan has some serious obstacles to overcome if it is going to draw more travelers.
The country's strict visa policy is often criticized for discouraging would-be visitors, especially those from Asia, who make up nearly 70 percent of all travelers to Japan.
And Japan is still an expensive destination, especially compared with other countries in Asia.
"The price is a huge factor," said Mary Frances Barnett of Pacific Delight Tours from Los Angeles.
Japanese travel agents agree, while also noting that tourist information desks are scarce and foreigners cannot read street signs.
With infrastructure changes needed, "I don't think 10 million is an easy number," said Miho Fujisaki, a spokeswoman for JTB, Japan's largest travel agency. But JTB is trying. Since January, it has added 19 package tours for foreigners, for a total of 95.
