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After decades of gradual growth, tourism into Japan exploded from 8 million to over 30 million from 2012-19. Coming out of COVID, Japan had 25 million visitors in 2022, and now welcomes 3 million tourists every month. The Japanese government has a stated goal of 60 million visitors annually by 2030. Eighty percent of tourists currently come from Asia, with 10 percent from North America.
In July, Prime Minister Kishida stated “we will push ahead with expanding inbound tourism and developing sustainable travel areas,” and plans to ease entry procedures and development of a stronger system of domestic air flights are already underway.
At the same time, problems of overtourism are already being seen. High profile issues include the number of climbers on Mt. Fuji and the street closures in Gion, the geisha quarter in Kyoto. Less iconic but equally disruptive issues include the excessive trash, noise, and disruption to local communities of the large number of tourists now visiting. And what of the price of the yen, social media influencers, air bnb’s, and differences in cultural expectations?
Join us for an insightful presentation and discussion with Yoko Tanaka, Executive Director of the Los Angeles office of the Japan National Tourism Organization, as we learn more about Japan’s strategies for inbound tourism. After the program, join our famous sushi & networking session.
Full Program
5:30pm Check-In opens, Networking
6pm Program starts, Welcome
6:10pm Speaker presentation begins
6:40pm Open Q&A Session begins
7pm Presentation closes, Networking opens, Food and beverages available
8:45pm Event closes
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