Tourist Beacons All Over Japan

The government seems dead serious about drawing foreign tourists, as 81 organizations now get together crossing over the border of both public and private sectors to promote tourism. It's news-worthy in that both sectors not only cooperate in public relations but in actual commodity production. That is unique.

It's not like the conventional "tourist agency" but a public/private collaboration in developing tourism-oriented commodities participated by as many as 81 organizations already registered at the Tourist Agency.

The new system is called "Japan-Version DMO (Destination Management/Marketing Organization) " whereby the agency supports those registered organization. The support covers not only general PR activities but also market research, analysis and planning of tourist commodities, involving experts in culture, sports, farming, etc.

Seven prefectures in Chugoku and Shikoku have set up a new structure "Setouchi Tourism Promotion System" joined by 350 firms and organizations in that area including JR West-Japan and Japan Tourist Bureau.

To mention a few of the programs suggested so far, an extensive cycling road between Ehime and Hiroshima prefectures is charming. The road links numerous islands linking both prefectures over the Setouchi Inland Sea. Equally attractive is an amphibian sightseeing flight over historic sites in Naoshima, Kawaga, and Itsukushima, Hiroshima.

Local banks have already invested in a 10-trillion yen fund to finance such projects.

Up north in Akita, a product called "Akitaken Tourism" despatching moving images of Akitaken backed by Google Japan.

A "feel-it-yoursef" type of tourism is planned by four local municipalities in Tokushima called "Sora-no-Sato" to offer abundant opportunities for foreign tourists to physically participate in farming and craftwork workshops to learn what it's like to live in Japan.

The City of Toyooka of Hyogo Prefecture is out to install its own DMO inviting the Wheer Alliance, rapid bus transit in Tokyo, Zentan Bus in Hyogo and the city of Tango, Kyoto, to introduce a tourist commodity linking Kinosaki Hot Spring and Izushi for chic walking tours of the area.

Over 20 million tourists visited Japan last year and the government is targeting twice as many by 2020. More power to DMO. (Nathan Shiga)