Like many other cities in Japan, Kyoto is entering its peak tourist season. But instead of encouraging tourists, the Kyoto city government recently canceled the daily bus pass to reduce the number of tourists using this form of public transportation in the city, according to Asia Times.
People are dissatisfied despite economic benefits
Kyoto residents have become impatient with overcrowding on public transport and long queues.
In 2022, about 80% of Kyoto residents said public transport and streets were overloaded with tourists. More than 75% of respondents were dissatisfied with tourist behavior such as littering and eating while walking.
The increasing number of international tourists puts great pressure on the city's infrastructure, and their behavior causes unsightly scenes in public places.
Tourism plays a major role in Kyoto. In 2018, the city welcomed 52 million visitors, earning $8.7 billion, or nearly 20% of nominal GDP.
Tourists make an important contribution to the Japanese economy. Photo: Mainichi.
But tourism has also changed the city’s way of life, making it difficult for locals to find rental housing, as apartment owners prefer short-term rentals to more profitable tourists. Shops and restaurants also focus on tourists.
In February 2020, mayoral candidate Shoei Murayama launched a campaign to woo voters with the message that “overtourism” was harmful to Kyoto. Murayama did not win, but the campaign showed the extent of the controversy surrounding Kyoto’s overtourism problem.
After Covid-19 appeared, Japan closed its borders to foreign tourists from April 2020 to October 2022, completely paralyzing the tourism industry.
In the previous seven years, from 2013 to before Covid-19, the number of international visitors to Japan had more than tripled and reached 32 million in 2019.
In 2003, the Japanese Ministry of Transport launched the "Visit Japan" campaign, followed by Tokyo in 2006 enacting a basic law to promote tourism, thereby turning tourism into one of the pillars for the economic development of the Land of the Rising Sun. In 2008, the Japan Tourism Agency was established.
In 2019, tourists to Japan spent a total of $32.1 billion, exceeding the $26.8 billion in revenue from semiconductor exports.
Tourism recovery
The Covid-19 travel restrictions have nearly collapsed the Japanese tourism industry and required government aid. Tokyo has since launched a “Go Travel” campaign to boost tourism and prevent banks from collapsing.
Last September, the number of tourists to Japan reached 2.2 million, equivalent to 96% of the pre-pandemic level. The recent weakness of the yen against the USD and EUR has helped the tourism industry recover quickly.
In the second quarter, total spending by tourists to Japan reached $8.2 billion, nearly the same as in 2019. Each tourist spent an average of $1,338, meeting the target set by Japanese tourism authorities.
Under a tourism strategy approved by the Japanese government in March, the country is focusing on encouraging wealthy tourists to spend more to increase the total value of tourist spending.
Tourists wearing traditional costumes in Kyoto. Photo: Asia Times.
Foreign tourists play a very important role, with tourists from the UK, China and Australia being the most generous group.
However, this year, Chinese tourists have not returned to Japan during the national holiday period, due to controversy after Tokyo approved a plan to release wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.
Okinawa has seen the impact of Chinese tourists turning away from Japan most clearly. In September, Okinawa tourist arrivals were only 50% of pre-pandemic levels. This summer, Governor Denny Tamaki visited China to lobby for the resumption of direct flights from Beijing and Shanghai.
However, many Okinawans are not thrilled with the prospect of a return to tourist crowds. Local residents complain that tourists disrespect local culture and trample on sacred sites.
Keiichiro Nakamura, the owner of a travel agency in Okinawa, has created a website to educate tourists on good manners on the island. Mr Nakamura says the satisfaction of local people is a prerequisite for the success of tourism.
