Tourism ministers from Japan, China, and South Korea have pledged to
increase the number of cross-border tourists between their countries to
40 million by 2030.
This commitment was made during a two-day meeting in Kobe, Japan,
where Japan’s Tourism Minister Tetsuo Saito, China’s Vice Minister of
Culture and Tourism Zhang Zheng, and South Korea’s Minister of Culture,
Sports, and Tourism Yu In Chon discussed strategies to meet this goal.
The ministers underscored the need to enhance regional connectivity
to boost local economies. "Strengthening regional connections is
essential for revitalising local economies," Saito stated. They also
committed to addressing challenges such as overtourism and improving
accessibility for families, elderly travellers, and people with
disabilities as part of their sustainable tourism initiatives.
This trilateral meeting was the first since 2019, having been paused
due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The ministers highlighted that the
previous goal of 30 million cross-border tourists, set in an earlier
meeting, was achieved in 2018, two years ahead of schedule. The current
aim is to restore tourist numbers to pre-pandemic levels by 2025 and
subsequently increase them to 40 million by 2030.
Japan is also aiming to attract 60 million foreign visitors annually
by 2030 as part of its broader economic growth strategy. Although the
weak yen has led to a rise in visitors from China and South Korea,
outbound travel from Japan to these countries has yet to fully recover.