Pacific Magazine > Magazine > January 1, 2008

Japan Tourism

Japanese Say ‘Yokoso!’

Government Puts Out The Welcome Mat

By Moffat G. Mamu, Solomon Star

Sisters pose for family pictures at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. PHOTO: Suzanne Chutaro

TOKYO–Japan is known for sending millions of travelers overseas. But now the Japanese government is spending big money to attract foreigners to this land of temples, shrines, crowded cities and packed subways.

In comparison to the 17.4 million Japanese who traveled overseas in 2005, only 6.73 million foreign tourists visited Japan that year.

To change that picture, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) five years ago launched the “Visit Japan Campaign.” It is better known as “Yokoso!” which means welcome in Japanese.

“The initiative aims to lessen the gap at the earliest possible stage,” says Tetsuro Hirata, director of the ministry’s International Tourism Division, Policy Bureau. The Yokoso! campaign’s goal is to attract 10 million foreign tourists to Japan by 2010.

Key components of the initiative are strategic overseas advertising of Japan and creation in the country of attractive tourist destinations and industries through tourism renaissance projects and signage in foreign languages.

Hirata said the economic impact of tourism in Japan is huge with travel spending of about $24 billion and employment creation of about 4.69 million persons. Spending by foreign tourists to Japan accounts for 6.7 percent, or $12.3 billion, of the $214 billion spent on travel in Japan each year.

Events such as the Aichi Expo and the opening of the Chubu Central International Airport at Nagoya in 2005 helped boost visitor arrivals. From 5.2 million international travelers in 2003, Japan achieved 7.3 million arrivals in 2006. Foreign arrivals were expected to reach 8 million last year, said Hirata. The national government last year spent 3.6 billion yen (US$31 million), an increase from the 2 billion yen
(US$17.5 million) budgeted in 2003. The campaign is targeting 12 countries as its priority markets.

These include: South Korea, China, USA, Hong Kong, Taiwan, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Thailand. Visitors from these countries make up 90 percent of tourists arrivals into Japan.

The campaign conducts its promotion through media-based public relations initiatives, which include newspapers, magazines, and television.
 
“We are on schedule with our target and hope to reach 10 million by 2010,” Hirata said.