- Japan’s tourism has exploded in recent years, with a record 36.8 million visitors in 2024.
- You are weak has attracted visitors to Japan, who is already experiencing the influences of overlap.
- Experts say Japan should learn from other hot travel points and be proactive for tourism management.
If you feel like everyone you know they are going to Japan now – the kind of feeling like everyone was going to Iceland in 2010 – this is because they are.
Iconic images of Iceland’s blue lagoon and black sand beaches that prevailed social media sources have given ways to pastel images of Mount Fuji and adorable snowflake videos immersed in hot springs in Jigokudani Monkey Park.
“Become becomes” destination “, especially with new customers,” Katherine Flynn, a travel planner for the New York Fora travel agency, for Japan’s Business Insider. “This is one of the few destinations that I will have clients include Tiktok connections when presenting their” indispensable activities “in my form of investigation.
In 2024, the number of visitors to Japan reached a high record of approximately 37 million, a 47% increase by 2023 and a 15% increase from 2019, in front of the Pandemia. The number of Americans only visited Japan in December increased more than 30% year by year, according to preliminary data compiled by the Japanese government.
The travel boom is partially run by Japan’s weak currency, making a previously considered expensive destination to visit much more affordable. Lauren Jory, another Fora’s adviser, said that the strong position of the US dollar against Jeni, as well as Japan’s closed borders for several years after pandemia have prompted Americans’ interest in the country.
Similarly, the tourism boom in Iceland came in the wake of an economic crisis – and also helped withdraw the island nation. But while tourists can be a welcome view of an economy in trouble, they can also bring with them a number of problems related to overurism, as some destinations in Japan are already experiencing.
Although both countries are different in some main ways, sustainable tourism lawyers say there are lessons for Japan to learn from Iceland, as well as other destinations that have passed a rapid growth of tourism in a relatively short time.
Tourists take pictures of Mount Fuji in the town of Kawaguchiko, Japan. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
Tourism can be a salvation for economies in difficulty
Following the 2008 financial crisis, the value of the Icelandic chrones was tanked, along with the Iceland scholarship. Thousands lost their homes and unemployment grew greatly. Two years later, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano interrupted the air trip to Europe and caused more problems for the country already in difficulty – but also attracted international awareness of Iceland.
Travelers from all over the world – attracted by weak Krona and creative marketing from budget airlines that promote Iceland as a desirable stop between Europe and America – began to roll. Iceland’s annual numbers increased by 328% between 2010 and 2019.
“Tourism was extremely important to bring us back to our feet after the collision, and grew up in our largest export industry,” told ADP Sigíður Dögg Gu basedsdóttir, then the head of the Iceland visit, told ADP in 2022.
Now Japan is facing its economic challenges, including a weak currency, high inflation and reducing GDP. Japan is also dealing with an aging population, low birth rate and lack of work.
“Tourism is a quick victory for many of these countries,” Alan Fyall said, a visit to Orlando donated to the chairman of tourism marketing at the University of Hospitality Management College of the University of Florida, who studies sustainable tourism, said for countries with economics in difficulty.
“Tourism can be a very, very powerful economic and social force for good. There is no doubt. However, it’s like everything – it’s how you do it,” he said.
When overurism becomes a problem
As the news industry news site Scrapie In 2019, Iceland became the “child poster for the positive and negative effects of the supervision phenomenon” as tourism evolved into the country’s largest industry in a relatively short number of years. The influences of tourism boom included hot spots, incredible tourism behavior, stress in infrastructure and natural areas, and higher prices for locals and visitors, as well as possible tourism support as an industry.
Ameyoko Market, a popular tourist area at Tokyo Central. Richard A. Brooks/AFP/Getty Images
Japan is much larger than Iceland – in size, population and GDP – but the country is already facing some of the same predominance problems.
Masaru Takayama, chairman of the Japanese Alliance of Responsible Travel Agencies and an expert on sustainable travel, said Kyoto, where he is located, has become “a capital of excess”. The central part of the city has been flooded with tourists who consume public resources and making it difficult for local residents to go to their daily lives.
“We have a lot of elders here who can board buses and subway for free, but there are no places available to them,” he said.
Takayama said local businesses have also changed to accommodate tourists. He said his favorite restaurants are inside the distance, but that it is difficult to actually go because tourists make reservations months ago. Restaurants have also raised prices and changed their menus to take more care of foreigners.
“We can see these places literally, but you can’t go,” he said, adding, “so we are really losing the truthfulness of what was, what was good for Kyoto.”
An increase in rental properties has also led to higher prices and taxes for locals, many of whom do not work in tourism -related industries and therefore are experiencing the weaknesses of tourism without much benefit, he said.
Japan has already taken some measures to address issues with tourism. Last year officials in Kyoto stopped tourists from the well -known alleys in Gion, well -known Geishafollowing complaints from the locals about the bringing of visitors.
Fujikawaguchiko, a small town near Mount Fuji, said last year that it was building a network obstacle to blocking a popular photographic point for tourists after residents complained of disrespect. Japan also announced the new regulations last year and a tourist tax on climbing Mount Fuji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to overcrowding.
However, experts who spoke to Bir said that Japan should focus on a proactive approach to tourism management that prioritizes the needs of the locals along with the benefits of tourism.
Proactive measures against overurism
Fyall said Japan is relatively new to the tourism game, only emerging as a common destination for travelers in the last 10-15 years. He also said the country has been relatively careful about promoting tourism and not as aggressive as other destinations. But now that you are weak, he said it is “Bonanza Time” for travelers from China and the West.
Tourists take selfie with the Hozomo port at the Senso-Ij temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. Stanislav Kogiku/Sopa Images/Lightrocket/Getty Images
Anna Abelson, an auxiliary professor at the Hospitality Center Jonathan M. Tisch of New York University, said Iceland was not originally prepared for her tourism boom, but that Pandemia, while challenging for the tourism industry, allowed the country to shifted his focus on promoting a sustainable travel industry.
Iceland has adopted several measures to address the overvoltage, including a tourism tax, which is implemented in hotel rooms, navigations and camps and used to support sustainability efforts and to mitigate the environmental impact of tourism. The country has also invested millions in improving infrastructure in popular tourist spots, building very necessary parking lots, baths and trails, and encouraging visitors to travel to less explored areas.
Abelson said Japan should be proactive – rather than reactive – to addressing problems with supervision or the risk of reaching a point where locals get their disappointment with tourists. within Barcelona Last summer, for example, protesters sprinkled visitors eating in downtown restaurants with water guns during a demonstration against overurism.
Abelson said one thing Japan could do is appeal to tourists directly to encourage better behavior, such as Pledgein which visitors to the island site are required to sign a promise “to act in an ecologically and responsible cultural way”. She said Japan can also focus on the spread of tourists abroad, as Thailand has done by promoting less popular regions like Chang Mai and other islands, instead of areas that are already experiencing overcrowding.
Takayama said he thinks the Japanese government is still focusing on the amount of tourism than on quality, the latter from which he says it is necessary for sustainable tourism. While there are sustainable tourism guidelines – determined by the Sustainable Global Tourism Council, which Takayama is part of – he said implementation and action is another question.
He agreed that Japan may encourage tourists to visit less popular places, but that the government will also have to ensure that those destinations have been prepared and can accommodate tourists in a sustainable way. He also said the government can do more to try and attract the right types of tourists who are interested in traveling responsibly.
“Japan is still a great place to visit, and there are many sanctuary that people are not aware of, for whom they have to explore,” he said. “We’ll want to have you as long as you obey local rules.”
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