Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan

Based on the Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Law enacted in January 2007, the Japanese government developed the Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan as a master plan for realizing a tourism nation in order to promote various measures in a comprehensive and systematic manner (approved at the June 29, 2007 cabinet meeting). In addition to basic policies and goals of the measures for realizing a tourism nation, this basic plan prescribes those policies and measures that should be taken in a comprehensive and systematic manner identified by the government in the Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Law. The government is promoting the measures towards the tourism nation based on this basic plan.

Overview

1. Basic policy

(1)Increase domestic travel by the Japanese as well as visits to Japan by international travelers, while expanding overseas travel by the Japanese
(2)Promote sustainable development of tourism in order to achieve prosperity for the people into the future
(3)Achieve vibrant regional communities that residents can take pride in and feel attached to
(4)Contribute to enhancement of Japan’s soft power as a peaceful nation, in order to establish an honored position in the international society

2. Plan duration

5 years

3. Goals

(1) Basic goals during plan duration

Increase the number of overseas visitors to 10 million by 2010, with a long-term goal of equaling the number of Japanese overseas travelers (7.33 million in 2006)
Increase the number of international conferences held in Japan by over 50% by 2011, with the aim of becoming the top host nation of international conference in Asia (168 conferences in 2005)
Increase the duration of Japanese domestic travel by 1 night per person by 2010, to 4 nights annually (2.77 nights in 2006)
Increase the number of Japanese overseas travelers to 20 million by 2010, with the aim of promoting mutual international exchange (17.53 million in 2006)
Increase domestic travel spending to ¥30 trillion by 2010, through the creation of new demand brought about by improved environment for smooth travel and diverse service offerings by increased productivity in the tourism industry (¥24.4 trillion in 2005)

(2) Other objectives

A total of 25 objectives, including those in (1) above, have been established in relation to the 4 objectives: “development of attractive, internationally competitive tourist destinations,” “enhancement of the international competitiveness of the tourism industry and nurturing of human resources that can contribute to tourism promotion,” “promotion of international travel” and “improvement of an environment to promote sightseeing.”

4. Measures

Specific measures for achieving the above objectives have been described.

5. Other

The plan will be reviewed in roughly 3 years, in addition to an annual inspection.

Source: Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan

Contact:: Planning Office, General Affairs Division, JTA Tel: +81-3-5253-8111(ex 27-115)