A recent study by the World Economic Forum (WEP) reports that Japan is taking a proactive stance towards dealing with the issue of overtourism.
In the report published on Tuesday, 13th May, WEP communications lead in Japan Naoko Tochibayashi and Mizuho Ota pointed out that the Japanese government has already begun to implement a variety of solutions, mostly localised, to deal with relevant issues.
However, the researchers also noted that it still isn’t enough and dealing with the root cause of overtourism will require solutions that are both innovative and sustainable.
The report pointed out that the Japanese government allocated JPY 15.82 billion for Emergency Measures for Preventing and Mitigating Overtourism and Improving the Reception Environment for Foreign Visitors for fiscal year 2024.
In the country’s 2025 national budget, funding for overtourism measures makes up 15 percent of the total; yet the bulk of anti-overtourism measures has been noticeably local as opposed to national in scope.
Indeed, what is currently lacking in Japan’s combat versus overtourism is an overarching strategy that covers the entire nation as opposed to popular destinations alone.
Japanese tourism in the numbers
On 4th March of this year, The New York Post reported that the Japanese government had increased their international arrivals target to 60 million tourists, an annual target that the country hopes to attain by 2030.
The forecast was based on the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO)’s 16th January 2025 report that showed a total of 36.9 million foreign arrivals to the country as of 31st December 2024, predominantly spurred in by a weaker yen throughout the past year.
The 2024 total is actually higher than the total for 2019, the last year before the pandemic and a year which also saw record numbers of tourists flocking into Japan, and reflects year-on-year growth of 47.1 percent.
Travel agencies specialising in Japan or regularly offering trip packages to the Land of the Rising Sun reported a 54 percent increase in bookings made by families, friend groups, and corporate parties.
Interestingly, 35 percent of those travelling to Japan were free and independent travellers (FITs), up by over 12 percent from 2023; 97 percent of this demographic was made up of individuals between the ages of 18 and 28, many of whom opted for budget-friendly trips.
In terms of source markets, South Koreans made up the largest group at 8.8 million, with China coming in second with seven million, Taiwan with six million, and the United States at just under three million.
“We don’t want your kind here”
While the numbers sound very good, particularly from an economic standpoint, they have caused locals a great deal of stress over the past couple of years.
Japanese locals have needed to deal with numerous issues; amongst which are the following:
Overstrained infrastructure and compromised service delivery
Overcrowding has been noted in the major cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo, along with congested transportation routes.
Locals have complained over the past couple of years that tourists crowding into buses and trains have impeded their daily commute, and the way fares have increased in recent months has also fuelled the flames of discontent among the Japanese.
Businesses such as hotels, inns, bars, and restaurants welcomed the influx of travellers warmly just after the pandemic, but are now rethinking things as increased demand has led to difficulties with regard to resources and the quality of service delivery.
The cultural divide widens
Japanese locals find certain tourist behaviors, such as loud talking, opting to skip or barge into queues, or not properly disposing of trash, to be disruptive or disrespectful.
While signage and translation efforts are improving, language barriers can still create communication difficulties and misunderstandings.
Rowdy tourist behaviour has also heightened social tensions, with some residents feeling marginalised, unwelcome, and even unsafe in their own cities.
Mitigating the effects of overtourism
While a national-level response does not seem apparent at the moment, individual organisations, companies, and even communities throughout Japan are working to offset the adverse impact of overtourism on the country.
The WEP pointed out that, In October 2024, Japan Airlines and Hoshino Resorts collaborated to promote lesser-known regions to inbound tourists. The initiative worked by actively promoting relatively underrecognized “hidden gems” on their websites, social media campaigns, and package deals that combine Japan Airlines flights with accommodation at Hoshino Resorts’ facilities.
Prior to this, Japan Airlines introduced a campaign in September of last year to further strengthen regional tourism, offering free domestic flights to international travellers arriving on overseas flights.
This initiative is designed to facilitate the exploration of regions tourists may not have considered otherwise, and mitigate overtourism while contributing to regional revitalization.
Likewise, individual prefectures and popular urban destinations are also making headway, thanks to the development of AI-driven applications to warn of potential congestion well beforehand, enabling local authorities to enact measures to prevent overflow crowds at popular sightseeing sports.
Such applications are now in use by local governments in Okinawa and Hokkaido; in the latter’s case, use has extended to locals who use the app to plan their own trips or daily commutes.
However, despite current proposals from national-level agencies, the bulk of overtourism measures remains community-based or community-driven.
Indeed, WEP experts point out that: “Addressing these challenges requires initiatives to promote the dispersal of visitors. Japan’s public-private partnerships for mitigating overtourism should allow tourism to be directed to lesser-known areas whilst enabling crowd avoidance mechanisms that benefit regional economies, residents, and travellers alike.”
