Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has set out a new vision for inbound tourism to Japan, with a target to double arrivals by 2020.
A panel on tourism policy says doubling arrivals to 40 million a year is achievable, and projects 8 trillion yen in spending annually by 2020, the year it hosts the Tokyo Olympic Games.
"Tourism is one of the biggest pillars of our growth strategies and also a powerful card for regional revitalization. "We’ve managed to adopt such an ambitious vision full of concrete policy measures, Abe said.
Visitor arrivals began to surge after the government began relaxing visa requirements, coupled with a weakening Japanese yen.
The government plans to allow visa-free entry for more key markets to support the ambitious target.
Part of the tourism strategy is to also encourage more visitors into rural areas of Japan.
