Japan takes steps toward establishing overtourism countermeasures

11 comments

1. Let’s see where it goes… but at least it’s refreshing to see that some people noticed there could be issues with unhinged overtourism.

2. I mean, yea, even as a person who qualifies as a “tourist” I think in some areas it’s straight up out of control. But they don’t really give any hint as to what the measures are, and I really hope it doesn’t affect my ability to visit. The whole CoViD thing really messed me up.

3. Sorry for the “back in my day” comment but…

   BACK IN MY DAY (2003) you can actually visit most big tourist locations on a whim and have a decent time without feeling crushed. Of late, I don’t even dare to venture close to a lot of the bigger sites. Heck, even some of the second or third-tier sites tend to get overwhelmed.

   This isn’t to say “Ban All Tourists” because I saw the effect COVID had on a lot of my favorite mom and pop stores and restaurants and there is a definite economic benefit. So we’ll see what the Kishida Krew can cook up.

   I will bet money that no matter what they end up with our neighbors in the Pacific will call it “racist” or “elitist” though…

4. Ban group tours more than 10.

   Blacklist companies foreign and domestic that cause issues

5. Ban or do something to space out the busloads. Four busloads of 50 pax each all trying to climb up to Kiyomizu dera at the same time is simply untenable.

6. Im imagining men in high vis jackets frantically making X signs with their arms.

7. All my American friends are coming here. Tokyo is packed with us.

8. Maybe someday Japan won’t be a trendy place to visit anymore and the hordes of tourists who cause issues and give us foreign residents a bad look will dwindle. I hope

9. Solving the problem of overtourism is rather an essential requirement to make money from tourism.
   It is a matter of coexistence with the local population and the satisfaction of the tourists themselves. If overtourism is excessive and no measures are taken to counter it, the reputation of the destination will suffer.

10. >Inbound tourism has almost returned to levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. In July, 2.3 million foreign tourists visited Japan, totaling around 78% of the figures tallied during the same month in 2019.

    Given that group travel from China hasn’t resumed yet, that’s a bonkers turnaround. I definitely did not expect inbound travel to recover that quickly.

11. I’m actually of the opinion that Japan has seen the peak of its tourism popularity. The people traveling here are mostly this who postponed their trip due to COVID. Korea is rising fast in popularity and there’s no brake to this train, while Japanese cultural influence is on a clear downward trend.
    Chinese tourists are a problem and will remain for a while, but I’m also of the opinion that China as a whole it’s on a downward trend and this will eventually affect the disposable income of the average person; i.e., less Chinese tourists.

    Let’s see in a decade if I was right.