Tag: "TourismPolicy"

New directions for short-term rental (STR) was notified to local governments, allowing them to regulate ‘zero-day rule (location restriction)' and ' ICT management.'

Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) launched its new executive team in June 2026. They are rebuilding two-way tourism with a goal of 20 million or more Japanese outbound travelers.

Visa fee for foreigners to Japan rose by five times to 15,000 yen for single validity and to 30,000 yen for multiple validity on a yen basis.

Niseko Promotion Board (NPB) announced a new brand message ‘Niseko by Nature’ to aim at transforming from a winter tourist destination to a year-round tourist destination.

Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor visited Japan to join ‘Thai Festival Tokyo 2026' and talked about the current market situation of Japan and its promotional plans.

The Japanese government accepted five-years ‘Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan’ from FY2026 to FY2030. What are key points of the plan?

Shirakawa Village in Gifu Prefecture will introduce a pre-reservation system targeting tour buses for the major gateway bus parking to World Heritage ‘Shirakawago.'

Japan will introduce JESTA or Japan Electronic System for Travel Authorization by the end of March in 2029 to balance security and convenience in Japan's inbound tourism policy.

The government will reduce the passport acquisition fee from 16,000 yen currently to 9,000 yen for a 10-years-valid passport, and from currently 11,000 yen to 4,500 yen for a five-years-valid passport.

The Japanese ruling parties specify a rise in departure tax from 1,000 yen currently to 3,000 yen on July 1 2026 in the Tax Reform Outline for FY2026 to drive the national tourism policies.

A FY2025 supplementary budget for Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) amounts to 22.5 billion yen to implement initiatives to resolve issues, such as over-tourism, for which 6.8 billion yen is allocated.

Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) held GSTC 2025 international conference in Fiji. Randy Durband, GSTC CEO, talked about the current challenges against sustainable tourism and a roadmap to solve them.

Nathalie Delattre, Minister Delegate for Tourism of France talked about ‘sustainability,’ ‘inclusivity’ and ‘innovation’ as key drivers for the further growth, when she visited Japan to attend France National Day of Osaka Kansai EXPO.

The Japanese government recently decided to set a goal to increase consumption on foods by foreign visitors to Japan by about three times to 4.5 trillion yen a year by 2030.

Yamanashi Prefecture revealed survey results of ‘Fuji Tram’ a new transport system for Mt.Fuji. The prefecture has judged that the magnetic marker guidance system is superior to other candidates.

EY Strategy and Consulting (EY Japan) recently released a report titled ‘What does high-value-added tourism generate?' Tomotaka Hirabayashi, EY Japan Strategic Impact Unit Partner, talked about how important high-value-added tourism is for Japan.

Travel Voicer re-examined the problem of over-tourism. It defines the situation in the world, explains Japan's current situation, and has published a report to solve and curb over-tourism.

Osaka Prefecture will raise the lowest targeting accommodation price from 7,000 currently to 5,000 yen and the tax rates on September 1 2025, expected to increase tax revenue from 2.5 billion yen a year in 2023 to 8 billion yen a year.

Kenji Hamamoto, Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) International Tourism Department Director, talked about over-tourism in Japan in the interview with Travel Voice. He emphasized that over-tourism is not 'tourism pollution.

The current duty-free procedure in Japan will change to ‘refund method’ on November 1 2026 to improve conveniences for international visitors to Japan and reduce workloads of duty-free shops.