TOKYO: Japan is seeking to attract inbound tourists, particularly wealthy travellers from Southeast Asia, to visit rural areas in and around Osaka and Kyoto prefectures when the World Expo 2025 is held in western Japan.
The industry ministry’s branch in Osaka invited officials of travel companies in Thailand and Malaysia in late February to a programme that included sightseeing beyond the usual trips downtown. They were also briefed about the Expo by its organisers.
The idea is to promote tour packages tied to the World Expo, slated to take place from 13th April to 13th October, 2025, on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay.
In late February, nine travel agents from Thailand visited the town of Wazuka, a producer of premium Uji tea in southern Kyoto Prefecture with a population of about 3,500, as part of a five-day tour that also took them to Fukui, Nara, Osaka and Shiga prefectures.
The participants learned how to grow tea leaves, and make and drink matcha, a finely milled green tea powder.
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number of visitors from Thailand had been on a rising trend, topping 1.3 million in 2019, before plunging due to the coronavirus pandemic. The figure recovered to nearly 1 million in 2023, with repeat visitors accounting for a large portion.
Demand for visits to the countryside is high among “wealthy individuals who tend to seek experiences distinct from others,” said Yoshiko Miura, director of the bureau’s International Investment Promotion Division.
According to the Japan Tourism Agency, spending by foreign visitors grew 33.8 percent in 2023 from 2019 to 212,000 yen (US$1,400) per person.
With spending shifting from buying goods to buying experiences, Wazuka Mayor Masami Baba said, “We want to cultivate tourism suitable for us such as offering stays in farmhouse inns.”
Japan sees the expo as a chance to attract foreign tourists.
The UAE hosted Expo 2020 at Expo City in Dubai, which was the major global event that marked the recovery from the global pandemic.
Source: Emirates News Agency