The Japan Tourism Agency plans to use big data to conduct a survey on foreign tourists' behavior so that local governments and tourism industries can develop tours and events that meet their needs, NHK reported Wednesday.
For foreign visitors who agreed to cooperate, the agency will ask them to download in their smartphones a special Global Positioning System application so it can collect data that include the routes they take to travel around the country, which tourist spots they visit and the comments they offer via social networking sites, the report said.
The agency will analyze the data and offer them to local governments and tourism companies so they can improve services and facilities to make them more tourist-friendly.
The agecy hopes to make budget requests of ¥100 million for the project as a part of the government's effort to attract more foreign tourists, NHK said. The government has set a goal of doubling the number of foreign tourists to 20 million in 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Summer Olympics and Paralympics.