A Japanese government expert panel is calling for the number of areas with measures against overtourism to be doubled.
The government plans to revise its Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan. The expert panel presented a draft of the revision at its meeting on Friday. The move comes as overtourism has become a problem in many parts of the country, with the number of foreign visitors continuing to rise.
The draft says a key challenge is striking a balance between welcoming overseas tourists and maintaining residents’ quality of life.
It sets a goal of increasing the number of areas with overtourism measures from the current 47 to 100 by 2030. These measures are aimed at easing excessive congestion and informing tourists about proper etiquette, among other purposes.
The government also plans to triple the departure tax to 3,000 yen, or about 20 dollars. The revenue is expected to be used to fund the measures.
The draft keeps the government’s 2030 target of 60 million foreign visitors, up from 42 million last year. It also maintains the spending target of 15 trillion yen, or about 97 billion dollars.
The government plans to finalize the basic plan by the end of March after gathering public feedback.
AloJapan.com