The world of tourism has already witnessed the negative consequences of mass tourism on numerous occasions. However, it seems that the lesson still hasn’t been learned. Somehow, there always appears yet another mass tourism victim that now copes with the same problems as its predecessors. This time its newest victim is Japan.
The tourism sector in Japan blossomed in 2014 and 2015 accounting for almost 20 million tourists per year. In 2018, this number reached a record of 31 million tourist arrivals. This rapid growth is mostly attributed to the rise of the economic power of its Asian neighbors and the incredible art of caring for visitors that is called “omotenashi”. During the last year, 50% of tourists came from China and South Korea. 15.3% came from Taiwan, and 7.1% from Hong Kong.
The massive influx of tourists led to many problems, mainly overcrowding and lack of accommodation facilities. What Japanese are mostly concerned about is the impact of tourism on culture as their daily life has already been affected. For example, there are locals who have stopped going to their favorite stores because a large number of tourists visit them. Traders have also recorded a drop in the sale, as most visitors don’t necessarily buy anything, they just enter the stores out of curiosity. Vandalism and problems with waste disposal have also been recorded.
It remains to see how Japan is going to put an end to further growth of mass tourism negative consequences.