Japan Is Upping Its Tourism Game Before the 2020 Olympics
Photo Credit: A Tokyo street. Japan wants to capitalize on holding the 2020 Olympics. Flickr / Toomore Chiang
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Japan lags far behind its Asian tourism competition in attracting Western visitors. As the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games approach, the country is adopting a new strategy for landing on the region's tourism medal stand.
In anticipation of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan finds itself at a pivotal moment—when an effective strategy to attract international tourists could have an outsize impact on the country for years to come.
The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) wants to grow inbound tourism to 40 million by 2020. That’s a significant jump from 2017, when the country attracted 28.7 million international visitors.
In order to achieve this goal, the JNTO has launched a multilingual promotional campaign to introduce tourism attractions to potential travelers in North America, Europe and Australia. It includes a new dedicated website showcasing lesser-known activities and destinations around the country. This is being supplemented by targeted digital advertisements and television commercials in select markets.
According to The Future of Japan’s Tourism: Path for Sustainable Growth towards 2020, after relative stagnation from 2006 to 2010, Japan's inbound tourism grew by 3
