Tokyo, Japan – When Paul Christie began conducting excursions on Japan’s Nakasendo, an previous commerce route alongside the put up cities of Nagano Prefecture’s Kiso Valley, few travellers frequented the path.
Christie, who has lived on and off in Japan for the reason that late Nineteen Eighties, seen the route as an incredible alternative for vacationers to see a extra genuine facet of Japan, permitting them to discover the nation’s historical past, nature and geography on foot.
Since taking on as CEO of tour operator Stroll Japan in 2002, Christie has been on a mission to unfold vacationers extra evenly throughout the archipelago.
“We’ve been doing this for 20 years and we are inclined to go to locations that aren’t touristy, so we’re teasing out the fascinating elements of Japan,” the UK native instructed Al Jazeera.
“This addresses the issues Japan is experiencing with ‘overtourism’.”
![Japan](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Paul-Christie-with-neighbor-in-Kunisaki-1694483481.jpeg?w=708&resize=708%2C944)
“Overtourism” was a typical speaking level in Japan’s tourism business earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic.
After eight consecutive years of inbound development, Japan acquired a file 32 million guests in 2019.
However the rising tide didn’t increase all boats. Most travellers flocked to the Golden Route, operating from Tokyo via the Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe conurbation, placing historic districts, Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples and common museums below pressure.
Since Japan lifted its pandemic-era border restrictions in October final 12 months, considerations about unsustainable tourism have returned.
Guests have rushed again in droves: 2.3 million overseas vacationers arrived in July, the best determine for any month since 2019.
China’s choice final month to carry its three-year ban on group excursions to Japan is anticipated to lead to an extra spike in arrivals.
In 2019, 9.2 million Chinese language vacationers travelled to Japan, accounting for practically one-third of all guests, spending 1.8 trillion yen ($12.2bn) within the course of.
“Our head workplace is positioned within the centre of Kyoto and we really feel there are as many vacationers as earlier than COVID,” Hiroshi Kawaguchi, the final supervisor at tour operator Oku Japan, instructed Al Jazeera.
“It is a related state of affairs the place main sightseeing spots are overcrowded and public buses are lining up.”
Although Kawaguchi says his firm’s imaginative and prescient shouldn’t be targeted on assuaging overtourism, Oku Japan’s enterprise mannequin is attuned to such considerations.
“The primary a part of our itineraries are off the overwhelmed observe,” Kawaguchi instructed Al Jazeera.
“Extra importantly, each tour we provide consists of the ingredient of neighborhood interactions… We name these experiences fureai, and that is significantly essential not just for the enjoyment of shoppers but additionally the area people.”
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Tour operators targeted on less-explored areas additionally consider within the energy of tourism to have a optimistic impression on rural communities and spur chiho-sosei, or regional revitalisation.
In 2007, Stroll Japan launched the Group Venture to reinvigorate two neighbouring valleys on the Kunisaki Peninsula, the place the corporate relies.
Alongside conducting group excursions within the area, Stroll Japan helps with farming, training, actual property growth and job creation.
Revitalisation is “a part of the corporate DNA,” Christie mentioned.
“We wish to present an instance of what’s attainable and maybe encourage others.”
As Japan’s inhabitants greys, many small villages are getting ready to extinction. For such communities, tourism is usually a welcome and much-needed rejuvenating power.
“With the proper assist, some communities genuinely need [tourists] to expertise their hospitality and their native life and discover out about their area, so long as they aren’t overwhelmed by guests and the standard of life isn’t degraded,” Alex Bradshaw, founder and chief guide at journey and tourism consultancy Gotoku, instructed Al Jazeera.
“Even when a village doesn’t survive into the longer term, the truth that it’s been remembered by anyone is extremely highly effective; that folks lived right here they usually had this life-style and we shared a bit of time collectively. That type of human interplay is essential.”
![Japan](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Alex-Bradshaw-1694485875.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C578)
Overtourism shouldn’t be restricted to Japan’s city areas.
Rural World Heritage websites, subtropical islands, common climbing trails and nationwide parks have additionally been negatively affected.
Fuji-Hakone-Izu, for instance, receives practically half of all nationwide park guests in Japan, owing to its proximity to Tokyo and because the website of Mount Fuji.
Michelle Lyons, founding father of Level North, a specialist branding agency supporting companies obsessed with Japanese tradition, is engaged on a marketing campaign to unfold tourism – and its financial advantages – extra equitably amongst Japan’s 34 nationwide parks.
“I wished to discover a solution to promote all of the parks as if it’s a community of locations which are all equal to one another,” Lyons instructed Al Jazeera.
“And by presenting them on this means I’m hoping the extra common parks will assist increase the profile of the much less common parks.”
Lyons is growing collectable pins and patches for every park and a buying and selling card recreation. She needs these collectable souvenirs to showcase the person deserves of every park and function academic instruments.
“The administration of the parks is absolutely fragmented, so it’s troublesome for them to coordinate their efforts… There must be a sequence of various options that creates worth for the distinctive teams concerned; a blanket strategy isn’t going to work,” she mentioned.
“When it comes to growing expenditure within the parks, reward outlets might play a giant half in that in the event that they’re extra strategic with what they’re promoting, and take into consideration what vacationers really need and discover interesting.”
Stereotypical photos
It’s a typical chorus within the business that Japan doesn’t perceive methods to market itself to overseas travellers however Bradshaw thinks Western media can also be at fault for presenting stereotypical photos of the nation.
“I see how Japan is offered and I’m type of confused by it. I simply surprise what a part of Japan that’s, as a result of they do depend on the kitsch, the odd facet of it, or tradition tropes… It’s all maid cafés, geisha, tea ceremonies and ninja,” he mentioned.
“It could be my hope that folks would discover a deeper facet of Japan. However I perceive why that’s troublesome for the tourism business as effectively. Once you’ve acquired to prioritise what sells versus what’s genuine and essentially good for regional communities.”
Some areas have carried out initiatives to particularly sort out overcrowding.
Kyoto, often known as Japan’s cultural capital, is about to abolish its One-Day Bus Go for vacationers, gross sales of which can stop in October.
Iriomote, broadly feted as probably the most lovely of the Ryukyu Islands, has restricted the variety of every day guests to 1,200.
In Yamanashi Prefecture, the native authorities has thought of limiting the variety of hikers on Mt Fuji’s Yoshida path if it turns into too congested.
Final month, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida introduced that the federal government would devise nationwide countermeasures to mitigate overtourism this autumn.
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Kumi Kato, a tourism professor at Wakayama and Musashino universities, mentioned the federal government has made strikes in the proper route – corresponding to organising cross-ministry conferences on spreading the advantages of tourism – however there may be a lot work to be carried out.
“Vacation spot wellbeing ought to be the aim and benchmarking idea,” Kato instructed Al Jazeera.
“Selling the night time and early morning economic system and secondary locations will disperse tourism into regional areas however that alone can not result in profitable regional tourism.”
“It’s essential that the goal ought to be clearly set… high-end vacationers, or vacationers with wealth, are sometimes talked about, nevertheless it shouldn’t be misunderstood that solely rich vacationers are priceless,” Kato added.
“Worth ought to be added to high-quality merchandise and genuine experiences [which will] increase customer per spending reasonably than improve numbers. The federal government does set a goal keep – variety of days – and spending per customer, however strategically ‘what sort of vacationers’ ought to be clearer.”