JAPAN　TOURISM　
RESEARCH　ASSOCIATION　GROUP

コロナ後の観光立国と地方創生

日本における観光は、成長戦略の柱であり、地方創生の切り札として飛躍的な成長を遂げてきました。日本は、自然・文化・気候・食という観光振興に必要な条件を兼ね備えている世界でも数少ない国であり、観光立国を実現するための素晴らしい潜在能力を有しています。観光は、地域に存在する様々な資源そのものが“ウリ”となり、その魅力を体験するために人々が訪れ、その地に滞在し、消費活動を行い、その結果として地域の経済・雇用が支えられるとともに、地域の資源の維持・発展にも資する効果が期待されています。具体的には、地域の広範な産業に対する年間 55.8 兆円もの生産波及効果や 456 万人もの雇用誘発効果を有しています。2019年の訪日外国人全体の旅行消費額は4兆8,135億円と推計、国別では中国が1兆7,704億円(構成比36.8%)と最も大きく、今後も更なる期待が寄せられています。

しかし、一昨年来、新型コロナウイルス感染症の感染拡大の影響により、国内外の観光需要は消失、、現在も全国の観光地・観光産業は極めて厳しい状況におかれています。コロナ禍により疲弊した我が国の経済を回復し、再び成長させるためには、地域活性化の牽引役たる観光とその中核を担う観光産業がその役割を十分に果たすことが必要不可欠です。

JTRAでは、コロナ後の新たな「観光立国と地方創生」を目指し、特に、全国に点在する地方空港と連携、各分野のエキスパートとともに地域経済の発展に寄与してまいります。

令和4年6月

会長　木村慶一

Post-Corona Tourism and Regional Revitalization

Tourism in Japan has been a pillar of the growth strategy and a key device for regional development, achieving tremendous growth. Japan is one of the few countries in the world that has all the conditions necessary to promote tourism—nature, culture, climate, and food—and has great potential to become a top international tourist destination. Tourism is expected to have the effect of contributing to the preservation and development of local resources as well as supporting the local economy and employment as people visit, stay, and consume in order to experience the charm of the various resources of the region, which become selling points. Specifically, tourism has an annual production ripple effect of 55.8 trillion yen for a wide range of regional industries and an employment inducement effect of 4.56 million people. The total travel consumption of foreign visitors to Japan in 2019 is estimated at 4,813.5 billion yen, with China accounting for the largest share of 1,770.4 billion yen (36.8% of the total) by country, and further growth is expected in the future.

However, since the year before last, domestic and international tourism demand has disappeared due to the impact of the spread of COVID-19, and even today tourist destinations and tourism industries throughout Japan are facing extremely difficult conditions. In order for Japan's economy to recover and grow again after the devastation caused by the pandemic, it is essential that tourism, which is the driving force behind regional revitalization, and the tourism industry, which plays a central role in that revitalization, play their roles to the fullest.

JTRA will contribute to the development of regional economies with experts in various fields, especially in cooperation with regional airports scattered across the country, with the goals of regional revitalization and making Japan a top international tourist destination in the after-corona world.

Keiichi Kimura, Chairman

June 2022