Description:
»By all means, please don't come to Kyoto«: From Overtourism to Undertourism in Japan, 2011–2020 The Abe Government promoted inbound tourism under the slogan of a »tourist oriented nation« (kankō rikkoku) as part of its policies of economic revitalization. Among the measures were simplification of visa procedures, enlargement of airport and flight capacities, and the legalization of the »sharing economy« for accommodation. Economic actors of several nationalities took the opportunity to welcome many more foreign tourists to Japan than ever before. Since the Tohoku Earthquake of 2011, every year has seen an increase in the intake of international tourists to Japan, and policies to market Japan as an attractive travel destination prior to the Olympic Games appear to have been effective. However, since about 2018, active local resistance has grown against »too many« foreign tourists, and the media has criticized »overtourism« (ōbātsūrizumu) or »tourism pollution« (kankō kōgai). With the abrupt interruption of international flight routes since February 2020, inbound tourists stopped coming to Japan. Instead of overtourism, the issue of the day is undertourism, and many have started questioning whether they will ever return to the old normality of plenty. This article will first analyze the push and pull factors behind the successful Japanese national tourist promotion strategy. It will then show its effects on Kyoto, an internationally well-known historical tourist town, as it rapidly expanded its accommodation infrastructure. Finally, it depicts the concrete effects of Coronavirus policies on the local tourist industry and its practitioners to evaluate the possible outcomes of absorbing this unexpected external shock of unforeseen duration.