International tourists in Japan: Their increasing numbers and vulnerability to natural hazards

Introduction

The world has experienced many natural disasters in recent years, including earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and tsunamis, some of which have affected the tourism industry owing to its vulnerability to these major events (Pforr, 2009; Ritchie & Campiranon, 2015). Indeed, a wide range of literature has acknowledged that natural disasters, particularly large-scale incidents, significantly impact the flow of tourism owing to the immense damage they cause to facilities and infrastructure and their negative effect on tourists’ perceptions of destinations, which is particularly strong if they occur during a tourist’s visit (Beirman, 2003; Cooper & Erfurt, 2007; Lehto, Douglas & Park, 2008). Additionally, tourists, especially international tourists, are regarded as vulnerable to natural disasters owing to their lack of familiarity with the destination and its possible hazards (Ritchie, 2008).

This chapter focuses on Japan as an international tourism destination. The country received more than 28 million inbound tourists in 2017, the highest number in its history (JNTO, 2019), and the tourism sector is now seen as an important driver of economic growth. In particular, tourism is expected to contribute to the Japan’s regional revitalization efforts to combat the decrease in the size of its population as well the challenges posed by its rapidly ageing society. Hence, both the central and local governments have made an effort to attract tourists to not only major urban destinations but also regional destinations and, as a result, many international tourists, especially repeat visitors, now travel to the regional areas of Japan to engage in a variety of cultural- and nature-based activities (JTA, 2018b). Given that the government aims to attract 40 million inbound tourists annually by 2020 and 60 million by 2030 (Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet, 2016), the level of such regional visitation is likely to increase in future years.

Although Japan has successfully attracted inbound tourists in recent years and the country is generally perceived as a safe destination by international tourists (Handler, 2016; Nagai, Ritchie, Sano & Yoshino, 2020), they are actually at high risk of exposure to a range of natural hazards. In fact, Japan is ranked fourth (after Vanuatu, Tonga and the Philippines) in the World Risk Report’s list of natural hazard-exposed countries (UNU-EHS, 2014). Several studies have investigated the impact of natural disasters on tourism in Japan (e.g., Chew & Jahari, 2014; Handler, 2016; Henderson, 2015: Muskat, Nakanishi & Blackman, 2015), typically focusing on large-scale events, such as the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, which heavily impacted tourism (JNTO, 2019). However, there is a constant risk of other (often smaller-scale) types of natural disasters in various locations throughout the country (Cabinet Office, 2016). It is, therefore, possible that international tourists will experience natural disasters while visiting Japan, and the likelihood of this will increase if Japan continues to attract international tourists in ever greater numbers. Hence, the purpose of this chapter is to provide a broad overview of Japan’s natural hazards and discuss future challenges that the country will face as inbound tourism rapidly increases. It first outlines the current situation regarding Japan’s inbound tourism sector and then presents an overview of the various types of natural disasters that occur in Japan. Finally, the vulnerability of international tourists is explored in depth using a recent natural disaster in Osaka as a case study.

Inbound tourism in Japan

Especially since the launch of the Visit Japan Campaign in 2003, the Japanese government has actively promoted inbound tourism and expended considerable effort to attract international tourists through a range of strategies, such as the enhancement of national-level promotional activities. For example, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has developed multilingual websites in more than ten languages and actively provides up-to-date information through social media, such as Facebook, Instagram and Weibo. The websites and social media channels have been tailored to each key target market to attract tourists (JNTO, n.d.). In addition, the government has actively promoted Japan as a tourism destination by organizing various events overseas. For example, active promotional activities were held at the Japanese Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015, and JNTO hosted a Visit Japan tourism seminar for media and industry professionals in New York in September 2015, which the Prime Minister of Japan attended. Furthermore, the government supported promotional activities conducted by local governments, including events organized in cooperation with Japanese diplomatic facilities overseas (JTA, 2016a).

In addition to such active promotional activities, the government has also worked to respond to the increase in tourists from various cultural backgrounds. For example, as an increasing number of Muslim tourists, especially those from Malaysia and Indonesia, visit Japan, it has become essential to provide a Muslim-friendly travel environment. Thus, the Action Plan for Muslim Tourists in Japan was formulated in 2018 to promote Muslim-friendly destinations across the nation by training local practitioners to

International tourists in Japan 241 provide culturally appropriate services and providing information on Halal restaurants or places of worship to tourists (JTA, 2018b; Yamagata, 2019). In addition, in 2015, the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) launched a program to support and establish local and regional level destination management organizations to respond to the rapidly changing tourism environment (JTA, 2016b). Other national-level strategies, such as attracting low-cost carriers and cruise ships, relaxing visa requirements for visitors from countries like China and Thailand, encouraging international business events and increasing the number of tax-free shopping environments, have also been implemented (JTA, 2018b). As a result, the share of low-cost carriers providing international flights to Japan has grown from 1.5 percent in 2009 to 21.7 percent in 2017, which has significantly contributed to the number of tourists that visit Japan, especially those from Asian countries (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 2018).

A series of government strategies, many of which involve cooperation between local governments and private sectors, have also contributed to the steady increase in the number of international tourists visiting the country. The nation received more than 28 million international tourists in 2017, compared to only about 5 million in 2003. Thus, the inbound tourism market has strongly expanded in the last 15 years. In addition, in 2017, international visitors spent about 4.4162 trillion Japanese yen (approximately 40 US billion dollars), a 17.8 percent increase from the previous year (JTA, 2018b). Figure 13.1 indicates the trend in inbound tourist numbers to Japan since 2003.

According to the JTA (2018b), not only did the country receive its highest number of international tourists in 2017, but it also had the highest record of

Figure 13.1 Number of international tourists visiting Japan, 2003-2017.

Source: Adapted from JNTO (2019).

Figure 13.2 Top ten source markets for Japanese inbound tourism, 2017.

Source: Adapted from JNTO (2018).

international tourists among the 20 major inbound markets, including China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Spain and Russia. Approximately 24 million tourists were from Asian countries, an increase of 21.1 percent from the previous year and 84.8 percent of the total number of inbound tourists. The growth rate of the East-Asian market (China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan) has been the most significant - the market recorded a 21.9 percent growth in 2017, with over 20 million tourists - but the number of tourists from ASEAN countries, including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, has also continued to increase. Among Western countries, the highest number of tourists came from the United States (4.8 percent), followed by Australia (1.7 percent). Figure 13.2 shows Japan's top ten inbound markets in terms of visitor numbers and their market shares in 2017.