- 14 Mar 2002
- 21,057
- 18,914
Interesting article originally published by Asahi Shimbun (here, but it's not free):
Japan is struggling to deal with the foreign tourism boom
With the population shrinking and the government leery of allowing more immigrants into the country, foreign tourism has become an effective economic stimulus. In fact, its success has exceeded anyone's wildest dreams. More than 28 million tourists from abroad visited Japan last year, and it seems for sure that the stated goal of reaching 40 million tourists a year by 2020 will be achieved if not surpassed, with or without legalized casino gambling, which is part of the official tourism plan. That said, a downside has emerged — something the media is calling "kankō kōgai," or "tourism pollution." However effective the tourism promotion scheme has been, it didn't take into account the numbers that actually materialized, nor the fact that many places, even those ostensibly set up for tourism, are not capable of handling the amount of traffic they've seen.
The most referenced example is Kyoto. In an Asahi Shimbun article on April 21, Masaru Takayama, a native of the city and the CEO of an eco-tourism company, said his hometown is practically overrun by overseas tourists these days, and the residents don't like it, despite the boost to the local economy. People who live along transportation routes that go through sightseeing areas find it difficult to use local buses anymore because they're crammed with tourists. Restaurants are always booked because of social network hype. And foreign visitors, he states plainly, are often inconsiderate — eating on the street, making too much noise in general. The rush of out-of-towners has destroyed "miyabi" — that refined atmosphere unique to Kyoto. As a result, an increasing number of businesses are no longer offering multilingual service support on their homepages and are being selective when accepting reservations by phone. More to the point, Takayama says that a lot of tourism-related businesses that are "not being run with local money" have set up shop in Kyoto to take advantage of the foreign hordes and their revenue doesn't benefit people who live there. [...]
Source: Japan is struggling to deal with the foreign tourism boom | The Japan Times
Welcome to the wonderful world of mass tourism. This is an issue many cities in Europe and Asia have been struggling with for decades. In Barcelona, Mallorca, and other Spanish cities the anger of residents has turned into physical violence against tourists; Dubrovnik in Croatia has resorted to severely limiting tourist access to its old city; Venice has seen regular protests against the tourist invasion.
Why Barcelona locals really hate tourists | The Independent
'Go home': Overcrowding causes angry backlash against tourists in Europe's hottest destinations
12 places you shouldn't travel to in 2018 | CNN Travel
I doubt that things will ever turn that nasty in Japan, but it seems to be unavoidable to restrict and/or to regulate access to the most overrun tourist resorts and attractions. Another issue is to better educate foreign tourists on how to conduct themselves properly in places such as onsen, ryokan, restaurants, or even on public transportation. In the course of my work I have to pass through Shibuya several times a week; I have seen groups of foreign visitors behaving in ways that made me turn my head in shame, perfectly comprehending how Japanese must have perceived their disgraceful demeanour.
Although I find the term "kankō kōgai" slightly demeaning too it's high time to tackle these problems. Japan will have to deal with over 40m foreign visitors in just two years:
Solving these problems requires a will to action on the part of the government and the sightseeing industry. The trickier part is getting the public to accept overseas tourists, a concept the media also likes to play up.
This is perhaps a good example on how the media and public figures should not shape public opinion:
However, it was a comment by comedian Takeshi Kitano, that made the biggest impression. He said that Japan had sacrificed its cultural integrity for the sake of money, thus implying that foreign tourism was polluting the Japanese spirit.
Japan is struggling to deal with the foreign tourism boom
With the population shrinking and the government leery of allowing more immigrants into the country, foreign tourism has become an effective economic stimulus. In fact, its success has exceeded anyone's wildest dreams. More than 28 million tourists from abroad visited Japan last year, and it seems for sure that the stated goal of reaching 40 million tourists a year by 2020 will be achieved if not surpassed, with or without legalized casino gambling, which is part of the official tourism plan. That said, a downside has emerged — something the media is calling "kankō kōgai," or "tourism pollution." However effective the tourism promotion scheme has been, it didn't take into account the numbers that actually materialized, nor the fact that many places, even those ostensibly set up for tourism, are not capable of handling the amount of traffic they've seen.
The most referenced example is Kyoto. In an Asahi Shimbun article on April 21, Masaru Takayama, a native of the city and the CEO of an eco-tourism company, said his hometown is practically overrun by overseas tourists these days, and the residents don't like it, despite the boost to the local economy. People who live along transportation routes that go through sightseeing areas find it difficult to use local buses anymore because they're crammed with tourists. Restaurants are always booked because of social network hype. And foreign visitors, he states plainly, are often inconsiderate — eating on the street, making too much noise in general. The rush of out-of-towners has destroyed "miyabi" — that refined atmosphere unique to Kyoto. As a result, an increasing number of businesses are no longer offering multilingual service support on their homepages and are being selective when accepting reservations by phone. More to the point, Takayama says that a lot of tourism-related businesses that are "not being run with local money" have set up shop in Kyoto to take advantage of the foreign hordes and their revenue doesn't benefit people who live there. [...]
Source: Japan is struggling to deal with the foreign tourism boom | The Japan Times
Welcome to the wonderful world of mass tourism. This is an issue many cities in Europe and Asia have been struggling with for decades. In Barcelona, Mallorca, and other Spanish cities the anger of residents has turned into physical violence against tourists; Dubrovnik in Croatia has resorted to severely limiting tourist access to its old city; Venice has seen regular protests against the tourist invasion.
Why Barcelona locals really hate tourists | The Independent
'Go home': Overcrowding causes angry backlash against tourists in Europe's hottest destinations
12 places you shouldn't travel to in 2018 | CNN Travel
I doubt that things will ever turn that nasty in Japan, but it seems to be unavoidable to restrict and/or to regulate access to the most overrun tourist resorts and attractions. Another issue is to better educate foreign tourists on how to conduct themselves properly in places such as onsen, ryokan, restaurants, or even on public transportation. In the course of my work I have to pass through Shibuya several times a week; I have seen groups of foreign visitors behaving in ways that made me turn my head in shame, perfectly comprehending how Japanese must have perceived their disgraceful demeanour.
Although I find the term "kankō kōgai" slightly demeaning too it's high time to tackle these problems. Japan will have to deal with over 40m foreign visitors in just two years:
Solving these problems requires a will to action on the part of the government and the sightseeing industry. The trickier part is getting the public to accept overseas tourists, a concept the media also likes to play up.
This is perhaps a good example on how the media and public figures should not shape public opinion:
However, it was a comment by comedian Takeshi Kitano, that made the biggest impression. He said that Japan had sacrificed its cultural integrity for the sake of money, thus implying that foreign tourism was polluting the Japanese spirit.