TOURISM DESTINATION

Tourism Destination



Tourism Destination

Introduction

Japan is one of very famous destinations among foreign tourists. It has a number of cultural features which are mixture of Western and Oriental cultures which allocate Japan to target many different markets. Many foreign tourists who wish to trip this country are often attracted by its unique culture. The reason of this research paper is to analyze Japan as a tourist destination. For that reason, it will show the general idea of Japan, give details what tourism and hospitality governance systems and infrastructures it has and examine the tourists markets and what business problems and openings it has.

Destination overview

Location

Japan is an Island country which is located in East Asia and western Pacific Ocean. It comprise of a great series of islands that stretches for roughly 1,500 miles (2,400 km) through the western North Pacific Ocean. There are four major islands from north to south these are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. These islands almost occupy the country (Bond, 2001, p43).

Demography

As an aging country, Japan has the 10th largest population which is 126,475,664 (July 2011 estimated) in the world. It consists of

13.1% of 0-14 years (male 8,521,571/female 8,076,173)

64% of 15-64 years (male 40,815,840/female 40,128,235)

22.9% (male 12,275,829/female 16,658,016) of 65years and over

(2011 estimated)

Major ethnic groups are Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.6% respectively (Bond, 2001, p43).

Culture

The Japanese have responded with great curiosity to powerful outside influences, first from China and more recently from the Western world. Foreign cultural values and institutions are selectively absorbed and adapted to Japan's existing indigenous patterns, but the basic sense of Japaneseness was unaffected.

Climate

Summers are moderate everywhere in Japan, but the winter climate in the south part is cold when the north part is warm. Temperatures in Tokyo which is capital city of Japan range from -6°C (21°F) to 30°C (86°F). It is common to see typhoons and heavy rains in summer

The Destination Tourism and Hospitality Governance System

JNTO

JNTO stands for Japan National Tourism Organization. It is established in 1964 to develop international exchange through tourism and located in Tokyo. JNTO performs a wide range of activities overseas and in Japan for promotional purposes. The activities include

Tourist Information Centres operation for foreign visitors

Offices operation in major cities around the world

Tourism-related research conducting

Travel literature and videos about Japan publishing

It operates 13 offices in major cities around the world and a wide range of tourism-related promotions are carried out (JNTO).

JATA

JATA stands for Japan Association of Travel Agents and is located in Tokyo. It is authorized by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism based on the Travel Agency Law. Their contribution to the development of the tourism industry includes a variety of activities which are

Disseminating information

Encouraging cooperation among members

Promoting the development of businesses and legislation

It has active members of 1,216 travel and 739 overseas allied members of non-resident travel agencies, transportation companies, hotels etc and participates in World Tourism Organisation (WTO), Pacific- Asia Travel Association (PATA) and American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) to develop the services quality for ...