Activate Inbound Tourism Targeting Tokyo Olympics 2020

Bureaucracy is often synonymous to talk-talk-talk but in Japan ... not quite. Tokyo Olympics five years away, METI, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, is demonstrating some remarkable ingenuity to get this country ready for the occasion. 

A recent Kyodo dispatch has it that the ministry is initiating a project to develop a "tool" whereby foreign tourists can enjoy a lot easier access to key information on how to get around while touring in Japan. 

METI announced August 24, for one, a project to issue an ID for touring foreigners to draw via smartphone individually coordinated information on language support, where-to-go data - all in time for the Olympics. Pilot experiments are due to start next year. Local governments are invited to participate in this nationwide project involving downtown shops and establishments willing to help activate the so-called inbound tourism targeting the Olympics.

To enjoy the benefits, visiting foreign tourists need to voluntarily offer basic data such as nationality, religion,  medical record in-flight or upon arrival.

That is not all. The ministry has still another package of ideas to open for the activation of inbound tourism. A fully comprehensive survey was conducted for food and service industries and tourism-oriented organizations to respond on on-the-field experiences gained through their own contacts with visiting foreign tourists. The survey revealed that foreign tourists are most responsive to Gaishoku or eating out (43.%) and shopping (42%). Lodging is unexpectedly low (16%), probably indicating foreign tourists prepare themselves with lodging info ahead of time.

Dentsu, Tokyo's leading international advertising and public relations company, was commissioned by METI to conduct this survey as part of the ministry's exclusive project "ID Alignment Trust Framework".
The keyword now is "inbound tourism".

So, our readers will see Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is not at all a huge body of bureaucracy - huge, yes, but not of empty thoughts but, rather, of loads of wisdom.