Endless Discovery

A NEW NATIONAL VISION FOR TOURISM IN JAPAN JAPAN ENDLESS DISCOVERY I TOKYO, KYOTO AND OSAKA I GETTING AROUND I A TASTE OF JAPAN I I A JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN I A FAMILY VACATION IN TOKYO I WWW.THEWORLDFOLIO.COM 01 FITUR 2017 TWF cp 2.indd 1 09/01/17 15:37 02-03 Contents-letter.indd 2 09/01/17 15:39 3 The Worldfolio Japan Japan, a land where tradition infuses perfectly with modernity The tourism sector is probably the most relevant industry in terms of the construction of a country brand. But common generalizations and stereotypes are often made about all destinations, countries and regions. France, the United States, Mexico, Spain, China, the United Arab STAFF Emirates; all of these countries are subject to stereotypes. But none more so than Japan, where a lack of information has generated gaps that have been lled ith lingering and soeties donright alse isconceptions. ÁLVARO LLARYORA When you think about Japan, what comes to mind? Crowded and Chairman, The Worldfolio expensive Tokyo? Mount Fuji? How tourists percieve a country can often be JONATHAN MEANEY very different from the local perspective, and sometimes the best destinations Chief Editor, The Worldfolio and experiences can be found far away from the well-trodden tourist path. Understanding Japan is absolutely fundamental to properly enjoying KRISTIN KJELLGARD Creative Director Japan, either as a holiday visitor, resident or business traveler. From misunderstandings, such as that international credit cards are not widely Art Direction & Graphic Design: accepted, to critical realities such as the language barrier; this publication EDUARDO BERTONE & IGNACIO PLASENCIA has one mission only: to showcase the real Japan and the future of its tourism Project Director: industry from an economic perspective. JOSE ANTONIO SANTOYO The Worldfolio has established a long-standing presence and ongoing operation in Japan and has published more than 80 pages of exclusive Project Coordinator: content focusing on the country in relevant international media in the U.S. LOUISE GRANKVIST and Europe. Therefore, this publication is our opportunity to share our Editorial Director: experiences of our travels and interviewing the top leaders in the tourism ANTOINE AZOULAY sector. The support of the Japan National Tourism Organization has been critical for us to develop this material and we would like to express our Project Assistant: appreciation in this publication. YOSHIE ISOMURA In this magazine, you will discover more about Japan and the economic importance of one of its fastest growing industries, from Tokyo’s eccentricities Regional Director: GEMMA GUTIERREZ and Hokkaido’s ski slopes, to the new role of tourism as an economic engine to boost growth in rural areas, addressing the challenges posed by an aging Special Thanks To: and decreasing population. We hope you will enjoy learning more about JAPAN NATIONAL TOURISM ORGANIZATION, JAPAN this truly fascinating country; a land where tradition infuses perfectly with TOURISM AGENCY, WEST JAPAN RAILWAY CO., modernity. NAVITIME & ASAKUSA HANAYASHIKI The Worldfolio Team TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 Enterprises come together 12 Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka: 20 A taste of Japan 24 Take a journey to form national vision for your comprehensive ten-day into the unknown tourism itinerary 02-03 Contents-letter.indd 3 09/01/17 15:39 The Worldfolio Japan 4 ENTERPRISES COME TOGETHER TO FORM NATIONAL VISION FOR TOURISM In this interview with the Worldfolio, Ryoichi Matsuyama, President of Japan National Tourism Organization , discusses how tourismrelated enterrises have come together to form a unied voice to reach a common goal, as well as the incredible growth of the tourism industry over the ast ve years, and how the industry, which was traditionally in the back seat, is now seen as a major driver of economic growth Tourism in Japan has increased dramatically in the past five years. It seems now that the pace of growth is stable and a lot can be expected from the sector economically speaking. However, Japan still has room for growth, especially when compared to the top touristic countries such as Spain, rance, Meico or Italy. What is your view on the tourism sector growth and where does this success reside in your opinion Which is your forecast for upcoming years? apan is currentl living a ver exciting tie. or the rst tie in history, our country is truly trying to open itself to the world. Japan is commonly known for its expertise in manufacturing, represented by globally reknowned brands such as Toyota or Panasonic. Previously, tourism was still considered to be a sub-sector, with a marginal impact on the overall economy. However, Prime Minister Abe’s administra- tion has made tourism one of the core pillars for economic growth, transforming Japan into a touristic destination. Ryoichi Matsuyama, President of Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) Historically speaking, outbound tourism has always surpassed inbound arrivals. Japanese tourists spend around $16 to $18 billion Lastly, we enforced the cruising-business around the Japanese a year, making us a great contributor to the international tourism sea. Asian nations have seen a sharp enhancement of the middle class, sector. or inbound touris our historical gure stood at around and the rst thing people ant to do hen the have one is travel. to illion arrivals. Ater Abe took oce e sa a sharp increase. Cruising allows us to tap into that market. While experts argue that 2015 was the eighth consecutive year that inbound tourism surpassed the depreciation of the yen also played a key factor, I believe that it outbound departures. or the rst tie in ears this represents a did not in comparison to the ones I named. While the Yen might have yearly increase of around 15-20 percent. a direct impact on tourists’ shopping patterns, I do not believe that ut o the illion tourists e received in ve illion it has an impact on the amount of people that decide to come here. were Chinese, four million were Koreans and three and a half million e are becoing a touris oriented countr aiing at illion ere ro aian. or the rst tie in histor e also received ore inbound tourists b and illion tourists b generating than one million Americans. These statistics show us that around 80 a total expenditure volue o trillion en b . n hen percent o our tourist influx coes ro neighboring countries hich we surpassed the 10 million bar, we set our objective for 2020 to 20 is, by world standards, normal. illion. oever e achieved that nuber last ear so a condent Our strategy at this moment is therefore to increase our tour- that we will reach our objective. istic base beyond the Asian scope. We are therefore launching governmental initiatives, such as the relaxation of visas for Asian The trillionyen ependiture is a government target countries. We are also installing tax-free programs for visitors, Absolutel it is the rst tie in histor that the apanese governent is allowing them to avoid taxes for purchases over 5,000 yen (ap- putting a sales target on inbound tourism. To achieve that objective, we prox. Across apan e have around taxree shops have three aor pillars. he rst one is to enhance regional touris. as of April 2016. Japan has many hidden beauties, unknown to the international tour- Furthermore, we are facilitating immigration procedures so that ist. We want to focus our efforts on promoting lesser known regions. tourists can gain time when arriving in Japan. Our aim is to have a The tourism industry in Japan has been marginalized for too long. system which allows immigration to take no longer than 20 minutes. For example, when compared to the construction industry, our sector At Tokyo Narita Airport, we have already been able to reach that tar- generates a similar amount of money. However, construction companies get. However, in airports with a large number of Chinese travellers, have a clear political force, a voice that tourism did not have. Histor- the visa requirements make it harder. We are therefore aiming at a ically speaking, tourism companies were SMEs, working hard but in queueing line of no longer than an hour. an isolated anner. o secondl e ant to create a unied voice or We are also aggressively promoting our country as a whole. the tourism sector to have more weight on the political and economic Major tourism-based companies have always existed in Japan, but arena. e ant to ake our sector a protable one ith directive poer. they focused on their individual targets while largely disregarding Third, we want to create a foreigner-friendly environment. For the common objective. We therefore started implementing a more example, we acknowledge the neccessity to push for the installation nationalistic vision, where all players joined together to reach the of WiFi connection around the country, allowing all tourists to be common objective of 20 million visitors. connected. Setting up these goals is crucial to the success of our in- 04-05 JNTO Q&A 2.indd 4 09/01/17 15:40 5 The Worldfolio Japan dustry. Japanese people are like that, once there are common goals and targets implemented, we become willing to work relentlessly in “We are also aggressively promoting our country order to achieve them. I am very optimistic for the future. If we look as a whole. Major tourism-based companies have at 2015’s country ranking in terms of tourism, Japan comes in at 16th always existed in Japan, but they focused on their place, with France holding the top spot with more than 80 million individual targets while largely disregarding entrants. Achieving a total o illion tourists ould put us in the the common objective.

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