According to SCMP, the number of foreign tourists to Japan in April 2023 is expected to reach 2.9 million, the same number as in April 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the industry.
But while travel businesses are welcoming the return of foreign tourists, they admit that millions of visitors can be a double-edged sword.
Many operators say there are worrying signs of overcrowding.
Japan began easing restrictions on foreign tourists last October, welcoming 3.8 million visitors through 2022. That’s down significantly from a record 31 million visitors in 2019, of which about 9.6 million were Chinese.
Many are optimistic that the recovery will pick up in 2023.
Cherry blossom season in Japan attracts a large number of tourists. Photo: Bang Linh
Domestic travel agency JTB Corp predicts 21.2 million visitors to Japan this year. That would put Japan on track to meet the government's target of 60 million visitors by 2030.
However, critics say authorities have failed to use the three-year COVID-19 hiatus to address overtourism issues.
“I am extremely concerned about that and this is something I have witnessed myself over the past few days,” said Avi Lugasi, owner and CEO of the “Windows to Japan” tour company in Kyoto.
I was guiding a group in Kyoto last week and it was hard to describe the situation in some of the city's most famous areas, like around Kiyomizu-dera Temple or the Gion geisha district. I couldn't see the ground beneath my feet. There were just people and people everywhere."
The streets of Kyoto and other traditional Japanese towns popular with tourists, such as Kanazawa, Nara or Kamakura, are simply not designed to accommodate so many people.
Travel companies also lack trained and experienced staff as many were forced to leave their jobs when the tourism industry went into hibernation during the pandemic.
Foreign tourists flock to Japan during cherry blossom season. Photo: Bang Linh
Many in the industry, including Lugasi, see Japan's tourism industry's biggest weakness as the lack of capable operators, especially those catering to wealthy travelers who want high-end services.
Hiro Miyatake, founder of Bear Luxe Corp, a network of luxury travel companies, said friction between locals and tourists was already occurring and was likely to be worse before the pandemic.
At that time, residents of popular tourist spots complained about overcrowded public transport, rowdy behavior, overcrowding near popular attractions, noise at night...
Such problems are becoming more common again, Miyatake said, adding that hotels are also under pressure and don’t want to turn away the regular domestic travelers they have relied on to weather the pandemic.
Ashley Harvey — a travel marketing analyst who has worked in Japan for more than 15 years — has seen similar problems related to tourist numbers overwhelming the country's infrastructure.
Harvey's friend arrived at Haneda Airport in Tokyo recently, landing at 9:30 pm, but didn't get back to the hotel until 3 am, because the immigration process took too long, and by the time everything was done, there were no trains into the city.
Harvey said that Japan had three years for the tourism industry to prepare for issues of human resources, infrastructure... but they failed to do so.
The government wants to encourage more foreign tourists to stay away from traditional destinations like Tokyo, Kyoto or Hiroshima and explore other places, but so far there is little sign that policy is working.
Tokyo's main streets were crowded, but the backstreets were virtually empty, Harvey said.
He believes authorities may have to introduce dynamic pricing policies in some popular locations, making the most popular spots more expensive and encouraging budget tourists to seek out lesser-known spots, while also finding ways to persuade people to visit at various times of the year, rather than during peak seasons like cherry blossom season.
“Japan must make it easier for tourists and the tourism industry to attract 60 million visitors by 2030 and avoid problems related to overtourism,” Harvey added.
