Over the past decade, Japan has grown increasingly popular for international tourism. In 2006, the Japanese government committed to becoming a “tourism nation”, and its development and the exponential rise of inbound visitors has been hindered only by the global pandemic. However, inbound tourists typically follow what is known as the “Golden Route”, with their travel and experiences of Japan defined by the Tokaido Shinkansen line. This has contributed to the phenomenon of “overtourism” in the most popular destinations, creating issues for host communities, as well as perpetuating a global image of Japan that is defined by three major cities: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

In this lecture, Christopher Hayes will explore some of the strategies that have been employed to diversify tourism in Japan in the recent years, with a particular focus on the country’s hosting of major international events, drawing on his research on the tourism impact of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He will discuss several of the challenges of expanding tourism beyond well-known cities, but also the opportunities and ambitions for emerging destinations.

Christopher J. Hayes is a Senior Lecturer in Tourism & Events Management at Teesside University. His research centres on tourism in Japan, along two main strands: first, he is interested in international perceptions of Japan as a tourism destination and the influence of foreign media on destination image; and second, he is conducting research on tourism destination development in Japan aligned to the government’s commitment to hosting international sports events, taking the 2019 Rugby World Cup as a longitudinal case study, investigating its legacy for tourism and wider impacts. Christopher is also highly active in the UK Japanese Studies community, sitting on the board of the British Association for Japanese Studies and serving as Alumni Coordinator for the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.

If you have any questions, please call the Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email us at: events@japansociety.org.