The Reality of Overtourism in Japan
With Japan expecting their tourism industry to be their second-biggest export for 2024, the government aims to bring in 60 million tourists a year by 2030. Some prominent figures in Japan have cautiously stated that achieving this massive number of tourists is possible, provided it is implemented properly, even though this number is ideal for the economy.
Currently, tourists in Japan spend most of their trip in the major cities of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. This influx of tourists has led to a series of obstacles for the locals such as traffic jams, pollution, and tourist misbehavior. Some residents have expressed their concerns regarding unruly behavior and etiquette breaches by tourist crowds.
Local institutions and organizations have taken it into their own hands to implement crowd control measures by mounting barriers and administering admission fees for sightseeing spots and tourist attractions. Prime Minister Kishida encourages the government to prevent overtourism by building infrastructures to handle the load.
As mentioned earlier, promoting tourism is ideal as long as there are systems to keep the tourist crowds in place without overpopulating the major cities. This is why the Prime Minister has also recommended building up regional airports and providing easier transportation routes to regional areas so that tourists can easily access the underrated cities of Japan.
By promoting the unexplored areas of Japan, the government can combat overtourism by investing in the less populated cities that can offer tourists a whole new side to Japan. Here are some of the places to visit in Japan that are worth visiting.
AloJapan.com