I am Norifumi Idee, who was appointed as Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency in April.
By becoming a Tourism Nation, Japan aims to revitalize the economy and enlarge employment opportunities by increasing exchange population both domestically and overseas, and boost mutual international understanding in the hope of helping world peace. The Japan Tourism Agency was established at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in 2008 and since then has been the driving force in government efforts to promote Japan’s tourism policy.
In the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, tourism has assumed an extremely important role in the recovery of the disaster-stricken areas and in the revival of Japan’s economy. While domestic travel demand has recovered considerably a year since the earthquake, lodging facilities dependent on leisure demand still face tough times and have by no means fully recovered from their state following the disaster. As for inbound tourism to Japan, the rate of decline in the number of foreign visitors to Japan has steadily improved as a result of our urgent measures to recapture travel demand. Nevertheless, strengthening of initiatives is necessary.
As such, we will continue to make efforts towards recovery of travel demand both domestically and overseas. These will include detailed promotional activities centered on overseas markets that have been slow to recover, the Destination TOHOKU Campaign, and recovery activities to encourage visits to the Tohoku and North Kanto regions carried out in cooperation with other ministries and agencies.
In addition to the effects of harmful rumors, the tourism industry has been confronted with a variety of issues in recent years, including the risk of a decline in foreign tourists visiting Japan, caused by increasingly intense competition between countries in attracting tourists and other external factors such as macroeconomic issues and diplomatic relationships, as well as an increase in the zero travel demographic, those who do not travel at all within a given year.
To tackle these issues, the Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan decided by the Cabinet in March of this year aims to “expand domestic and international tourism” and “improve quality of tourism”, and declares various policies to reach its goals of travel consumption within Japan at 30 trillion yen, 18 million foreign tourists to Japan by 2016, and higher satisfaction levels for foreign and domestic travelers.
Tourism is a growth sector offering future rewards which the Japanese society, beset in a somber mood due to a low birthrate and aging population, can see as something to work towards obtaining together.
I assume a heavy responsibility as having been appointed as Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency in a critical period for Japanese tourism, and I ask for everyone’s cooperation in working toward our goal of becoming a Tourism Nation.
Norifumi Idee, Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency
