Osaka, Japan, plans to impose an entrance fee on foreign tourists from April next year. This is to solve the problem of over-tourism, which has been deepening recently. Not only Osaka but also famous tourist destinations around the world are coming up with various measures after the same thought.
On the 24th, Hirofumi Yoshimura, governor of Osaka Prefecture, said, “The goal is to introduce a tourism tax in time for the Osaka-Kansai Japan Expo next April. The planned levy is separate from the accommodation tax already in place for both domestic and foreign tourists, and will be used to prepare measures against over-tourism and keep streets clean.”
The tax rate will be determined later in consideration of expert opinions. “The tourism tax is expected to be about the same as the accommodation tax,” Governor Yoshimura said.
Osaka currently imposes a 100-300 yen accommodation tax on domestic and foreign guests who stay more than 7,000 yen per night, and when the tourism tax is introduced, foreigners will pay twice that amount.
Accommodation taxes for both domestic and foreign residents started in Tokyo in 2002 and have since been expanded to include Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto City, Kanazawa City, Fukuoka City and Nagasaki City. If Osaka’s plan is realized, it will be the first Japanese city to impose a tourism tax.
The reason Osaka wants to receive tourism tax is to proactively solve the growing number of tourists in the future and the resulting pollution. In Osaka, the Expo will be held in 2025 and a casino resort will be opened on the artificial island of Yume-Shima in 2030.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of “overtourism” such as noise at tourist destinations, environmental destruction, and inflation has emerged as a global issue. As tourist cities around the world are struggling, various policies to reduce tourist visits and protect cities are being announced one after another.
If you pay an admission fee to a city, you will be able to change the problem with tourism. However, if you receive an admission fee in a tourist city, the number of tourists may decrease. It is a city that makes money from tourism, but if the number of tourists decreases, it will lead to a decline in income and workers will also suffer. The government will have to think about other policies, not just relying on receiving admission fees.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
