Inbound Tourism – Wellness: Asian Opportunities

The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) is maintaining its target for inbound visitors in 2030 at 60 million. ⁽¹⁾ This compares to achieved numbers of 31.88 million in 2019 and 4.12 million in 2020.

In the attempt to hit the target, the government will be promoting promising growth areas.

The JNTO spokesmen expects “adventure tourism” to be popular as people escape the confines of their homes. In addition, “sustainable tourism”, wherein tourism businesses seek to preserve their local environment and community, is expected to be a broadening multi-year trend worldwide.

Both activities above can be experienced in Japan’s 34 National Parks. A good place to start planning a trip is the National Parks Discovery Center at Shinjuku Gyoen.

In 2019, inbound tourists made 6.67 million visits to national parks. This implies one in five visitors to Japan visited a national park.

However, visits were highly concentrated with the top four national parks welcoming three-quarters of the total visits, implying that there is still significant potential for growth.

For more details on Japan’s forests and parks, please click on the link here.

A reality check: In our book, J-Wellness 2020, we made the case for Japan’s inbound tourism market having achieved maturity. Our 2030 forecast of 44.5 million is based on a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic by 2025 and trend growth in line with an estimated global tourism market growth rate of 3% pa. The analysis is available here. With the recognition of vaccine passports currently being dependent on which vaccine was administered, the normalization of travel from, for example, China by 2025 is looking less certain. Visitors to Japan from China totaled 9.59 million in 2019, and 1.07 million in 2020.

References

Despite COVID-19’s lingering impact, Japan sticks to 2030 tourism target, Japan Times, 28 September 2021: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/09/27/business/jnto-2030-tourism-target/

Japan: From Inbound to Micro Tourism

Yoshiharu Hoshino, CEO of Hoshino Resorts, presented under the auspices of the Columbia Business School on 1 April 2021 (Japan time). He described how, under an 18-month survival plan instituted in early 2020, “micro-tourism” customers had increased from under 10% of their facilities’ visitors to over 30%.

In the context of the collapse of Japan’s inbound tourism, table below, this has been an inspired, well executed pivot.

Inbound visitors
2019	31.88 million
2020	4.12 million
YoY	-87.1%
2020 Jan-Feb	3.75 million
2021 Jan-Feb	53,900
YoY	-98.6%
Source: JNTO, Conceptasia, April 2021

“Micro-tourism” refers to those able to access the facility without using airlines or the major train companies. The major transportation providers have not allowed passengers with a high fever to board, introducing the risk of becoming stranded if one becomes sick.

Hoshino Resorts, by delivering on anti-infection measures, and visibly demonstrating the associated increased costs to customers, has been able to maintain prices.

With local public festivals cancelled, marketing has highlighted the cultural and craft orientated activities available at their resorts. Customers who usually holiday overseas have also been targeted emphasizing the unique experiences on offer.

Japan’s tourism market
Inbound	US$44 billion
Domestic	US$204 billion
Total	US$258 billion
Outbound	US$11 billion plus
Source: Hoshino Resorts, Conceptasia, April 2021

Surveys suggest an ongoing cautiousness amongst Japanese even for domestic travel. For example, as discussed in a Nippon.com article of the 9^th March 2021 here.

We believe inbound tourism reached maturity in 2019. The analysis is available here:

Japan-inbound-tourism Download

The ability to innovate is essential to survival, in our opinion.

Hoshino Resorts is an example of this ability being put into practice well.