Tourism in Japan is recovering. It hasn’t yet hit pre-pandemic levels but the number of visitors is quickly growing.
The tourism industry is another matter, however. Hotels, travel companies and other tourist-related businesses are having a hard time adjusting to this new environment. It is an opportunity to implement much-needed changes. Yet while the industry modernizes, it’s vital that Japan not lose the special touch that has made this country a unique destination.
Japan has cultivated foreign travelers, touting its extraordinary sites and vistas, as well as a level of service and hospitality — its omotenashi — that distinguishes it from many other places. Japan hosted a record 32 million inbound visitors to Japan in 2019 as tourism boomed. Those tourists spent a record ¥4.81 trillion ($43.6 billion), 6.5% more than in 2018 and a seventh consecutive annual increase.