Flag of Japan. Photo by Kulbir on Pexels.com
The Japanese government approved a new goal on Friday to expand efforts against overtourism, aiming to increase the number of areas implementing countermeasures by 2030.
Under the plan, the number of regions adopting such measures is expected to more than double from 47 in 2025 to 100 within the decade.
The target forms part of a new five year tourism strategy endorsed during a Cabinet meeting.
Officials said funding for these initiatives will partly come from the international tourist tax, which is scheduled to rise to 3,000 yen per traveler in July from the current 1,000 yen.
Authorities said subsidies will be extended to local governments that introduce programs to manage crowding and address disruptive behavior linked to tourism.
The plan also highlights the need to redirect more foreign visitors to rural destinations to ease pressure on popular urban sites.
In addition, stricter enforcement against unauthorized private lodging operations will be pursued.
The government retained its long term tourism goals, including attracting 60 million visitors annually by 2030 and increasing tourist spending to 15 trillion yen.
