観光庁
That this announcement is not getting much attention is very suggestive:
It's encouraging that the government is recognizing that Japan has been left (far) behind as the tourism sector has developed. A book could be written on how that happened--Alex Kerr has a whole chapter on it in Dogs and Demons. Japan has all the raw materials to be an industry powerhouse: an established global brand identity in both esoteric high culture and funky pop culture, a first-world standard of living, highly developed transportation infrastructure. It's expensive, but so are plenty of other favorite destinations for travelers. And for Americans and Europeans, it's certainly no harder to get to than Bali or Thailand.
And yet, there's plenty about the place that's forbidding and, I suspect, signals to people that it's not the place to come to relax. Japanese people are very helpful to tourists who stop and ask for directions on the street and such, but almost no one really speaks English, let alone French, German, Spanish, or Mandarin. That's true even in the big hotels and resorts. Friends of mine who work in hotel management can go on for hours about how difficult it is to get staff who can communicate effectively with guests and respond flexibly to their needs.
Speaking of being flexible, Japan famously isn't. That helps make the country safe and clean, but it can also make adventure difficult, even in interesting city neighborhoods. Establishments that don't want foreign customers tend to turn them curtly away at the door or, sometimes, allow them to enter and then just fail to serve them until they leave. (It wouldn't make the motivation any less obnoxious, but least a polite "I'm sorry, but we're just not set up to accommodate non-Japanese guests" would soften things a bit.) Resort design is intruded on by plasticky fixtures, and countryside views are intruded on by pylons and blocky buildings.
Enjoying Japan takes effort, and it leaves people a little worn out by the end of their stay. I have only fragmentary anecdotal evidence for this, but I suspect that when people go home from Japan and chat about it with their friends, what they convey is "Fascinating place! But being there felt so odd" rather than "Fascinating place! You really must go sometime!" People who come once don't have enough incentive to come back, and people who haven't been somehow always find reasons to visit other places first.
Of course, none of this matters intrinsically. Not being able to speak English is not a moral failing. The problem is that the noises the federal government is making indicate that Japan wants to get in on the lucrative tourism game, and I'm not sure that better ad campaigns in foreign countries address the real issues. But the move probably means more jobs for bureaucrats, which is always a good thing!
At a 19 December meeting, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Tetsuzo Fuyushiba and Minister of Interior Affairs Hiroya Masuda agreed to establish a new Tourism Agency in October 2008. The agency will be external to the MLIT. It will be geared toward attaining the goal of bringing the number of foreign travelers who visit Japan up to 10 million by 2010. This is the first new federal organization established at "agency" level since the Financial Services Agency in July 2000. Because the Marine Accident Inquiry Agency will be abolished, among other mergers and cuts in organizations, the total number of agencies in the government will not change.
...
The MLIT [justified] its budgetary application this way: "The establishment [of this new agency] will be indispensable in light of our goal of building Japan up as a tourist destination."
It's encouraging that the government is recognizing that Japan has been left (far) behind as the tourism sector has developed. A book could be written on how that happened--Alex Kerr has a whole chapter on it in Dogs and Demons. Japan has all the raw materials to be an industry powerhouse: an established global brand identity in both esoteric high culture and funky pop culture, a first-world standard of living, highly developed transportation infrastructure. It's expensive, but so are plenty of other favorite destinations for travelers. And for Americans and Europeans, it's certainly no harder to get to than Bali or Thailand.
And yet, there's plenty about the place that's forbidding and, I suspect, signals to people that it's not the place to come to relax. Japanese people are very helpful to tourists who stop and ask for directions on the street and such, but almost no one really speaks English, let alone French, German, Spanish, or Mandarin. That's true even in the big hotels and resorts. Friends of mine who work in hotel management can go on for hours about how difficult it is to get staff who can communicate effectively with guests and respond flexibly to their needs.
Speaking of being flexible, Japan famously isn't. That helps make the country safe and clean, but it can also make adventure difficult, even in interesting city neighborhoods. Establishments that don't want foreign customers tend to turn them curtly away at the door or, sometimes, allow them to enter and then just fail to serve them until they leave. (It wouldn't make the motivation any less obnoxious, but least a polite "I'm sorry, but we're just not set up to accommodate non-Japanese guests" would soften things a bit.) Resort design is intruded on by plasticky fixtures, and countryside views are intruded on by pylons and blocky buildings.
Enjoying Japan takes effort, and it leaves people a little worn out by the end of their stay. I have only fragmentary anecdotal evidence for this, but I suspect that when people go home from Japan and chat about it with their friends, what they convey is "Fascinating place! But being there felt so odd" rather than "Fascinating place! You really must go sometime!" People who come once don't have enough incentive to come back, and people who haven't been somehow always find reasons to visit other places first.
Of course, none of this matters intrinsically. Not being able to speak English is not a moral failing. The problem is that the noises the federal government is making indicate that Japan wants to get in on the lucrative tourism game, and I'm not sure that better ad campaigns in foreign countries address the real issues. But the move probably means more jobs for bureaucrats, which is always a good thing!
Posted by Sean on
2007-12-20 14:01:46