Refresh to increase revenue

Japan is considered a dream destination by many foreign tourists. Photo: JAPAN TIMES

Restore “Diamond Journey”

Japan is a popular destination because of its continuous tourism cooperation activities, quality promotion, and favorable conditions for foreign visitors to pay when coming to Japan. Most recently, to develop tourism and attract foreign visitors, Japan has opened and restored many tourist attractions, notably the "Diamond Journey" tour including 4 destinations: Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Tokyo. The name "diamond" comes from the shape created by the line connecting these 4 destinations on the map of Japan, and is also a way to distinguish it from the traditional "Golden Route" including Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. The unique point of the "Diamond Journey" is the change in landscape and experience according to the 4 seasons: Spring - Summer - Autumn - Winter.

The unique destination of this journey is Edo Wonderland - a place that recreates the streets of the Edo period (around the 17th-19th century) located in Nikko city, Tochigi prefecture. The inns, samurai residences on the streets, the four-season bonsai trees or the images of samurai and people in ancient costumes give visitors the feeling of going back in time. Through experiential activities with the people in the neighborhood, visitors have the opportunity to understand more deeply about the culture and life of the Edo period.

Mr. Yoshida Kenji, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) said, Fukushima is only about 90 minutes away from Tokyo by shinkansen. This place has rich nature, many hot springs, delicious food and visitors will feel like they are in a completely different world .

According to the announcement from JNTO, the leading markets with international visitors to Japan in the first 8 months of this year include South Korea with 4.3 million arrivals, Taiwan (China) with nearly 2.6 million arrivals, the US with 1.3 million arrivals, China with nearly 1.3 million arrivals, and Thailand with 580,000 arrivals.

The boost from international arrivals has spread to travel-related services. Hotel room night bookings on the Rakuten Travel website increased by about 30% in August compared to the same month in 2019. High demand has led to a spike in room rates. The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Tokyo Shiodome in Tokyo nearly doubled its average room rate in August due to a significant increase in international visitors.

To accommodate distribution, some major brands are relocating staff. Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide temporarily moved workers from Tokyo to Hokkaido and elsewhere. Labor shortages have become a persistent problem in Japan’s tourism industry. “It’s already starting to show signs of overcrowding, and we’re seeing a shortage of workers as we enter the fall,” said Kyoto-based taxi operator MK.

Opening new luxury accommodations

The Japan National Tourism Organization is also developing a “Basic Plan for Promoting a New Tourism Nation,” which aims to increase foreign tourist spending to 200,000 yen per person (US$1,520 per person) by 2025. In terms of the number of visitors to Japan, the new plan only sets a target of “higher than 2019,” the year that marked a record high of 31.88 million international visitors to Japan.

In order to increase tourists' spending, it is necessary to increase the number of days of stay and the price of accommodation. The Japan Tourism Agency will implement support policies such as renovating accommodation facilities in localities, aiming to increase the number of days of stay in localities outside the three major cities of Tokyo, Aichi, and Osaka to 1.5 days, up from 1.35 days in 2019. In addition, the Japan Tourism Agency will implement policies to attract high-class tourists. According to this agency, in 2019, although the number of high-class tourists to Japan (trip value of 1 million yen or more) accounted for only 1% (290,000 people), it accounted for 11.5% of total spending (550 billion yen). According to Nikkei Asia , the Japanese tourism industry is developing many services aimed at wealthy tourists.

The Palace Hotel Tokyo, located near the Imperial Palace, has started offering large suites starting at 280,000 yen and above, which has helped lift the hotel’s average room rate to its highest since reopening last December. “We are no longer aiming for high occupancy rates,” said Daisuke Yoshihara, president of the hotel’s operations. “Decades of deflation have helped build Japan’s image as a destination for moderate spending and attract foreign tourists, so competition has begun to focus on meeting the two types of travel demand: affordable and super-expensive.”

“The increase in luxury accommodation is not just happening in the big cities, the biggest tourist hubs like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto,” said Kenji Hamamoto, an official at the Japan Tourism Agency. “Japan will be looking at a wider range of locations, such as smaller towns, villages and islands that suddenly attract tourists and may not have the infrastructure to handle the sudden increase in visitors.”

Thai An

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