‘Pollution by tourism’: How Japan fell out of love with visitors from China and beyond
Foreign arrivals have quadrupled in less than 15 years, fuelled by Tokyo’s Visit Japan campaign, but the increase has taken its toll: destinations like Kyoto now serve as a warning to be careful what you wish for
Back in 2003, a mere 5 million foreign tourists visited Japan and the nation’s inbound travel industry looked at destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand with thinly disguised envy. That same year, the government launched the Visit Japan campaign with the aim of doubling foreign arrivals.
That campaign can be considered a roaring success as the number of foreign arrivals soared past 20 million last year, is on course to surpass that figure in 2017 and is expected to reach 40 million in 2020, the year Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games. The government – which plans for tourism income to offset declines in other sectors of the Japanese economy – has established a new target of 60 million arrivals by 2030.
China accounts for a sizeable percentage of that total, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation, with slightly more than 4 million arrivals from China in the first seven months of 2017, up 6.7 per cent on the same period last year. Remarkably, more than 48 per cent of the arrivals in the April-June quarter were repeat visitors, suggesting China holds great promise as a source of tourism revenue.
Undoubtedly the increase in tourists has had an influence on the daily lives of the citizens of Kyoto
There are a growing number of Japanese, however, who believe the country needs to be careful what it wishes for. After all, they point out, this is a nation that is deeply conservative, set in its ways and where change of any sort can take an inordinately long time.
And while Japan is keen to play up its sense of omotenashi – the Japanese term that means “to entertain guests wholeheartedly” – cracks are appearing in the smiling facade.
Public transport – particularly in “must-visit” cities such as Kyoto – is increasingly crowded; hotel rooms are becoming harder to find, particularly in busy periods like the spring cherry blossom season; people staying in private rental accommodation, known as minpaku, are falling foul of neighbourhood regulations on nighttime noise and the way household rubbish must be meticulously sorted before being left out.
In addition, foreigners’ norms do not always mesh with local customs. While many overseas visitors have large and very visible tattoos, for example, the vast majority of Japanese still associate skin art with the nation’s notorious underworld groups.
Individually, the problems may appear relatively small and not a reason to get overly agitated, but there are clear rumblings of discontent.