Japanese tourism operators explore higher charges for foreign visitors

Popular visitor attractions and destinations in Japan are moving towards the implementation of two-tiered pricing systems between locals and inbound tourists.

With Japan's weak currency attracting large numbers of tourists - pushing up costs for local businesses - operators are moving to raise entry prices for foreign tourists by as much as sixfold.

The move if being led by Hideyasu Kiyomoto, Mayor of Himeji city in western Japan who is considering quadrupling entry prices for foreign tourists for the UNESCO World Heritage site Himeji Castle.

Visitors aged 18 years and up currently pay 1,000 yen (US$7) but, in a news conference this week Mayor Kiyomoto said he would like foreigners to pay US$30 and locals to pay US$5, with the intent of putting the money toward castle maintenance.

He advised “foreign tourists come here once in their lifetime, but locals enjoy this place regularly.”

The nearby Mount Fuji introduced a mandatory 2,000 yen (US$19) climbing fee in May, but some have called for the fee to be increased for tourists.

Mountaineer Ken Noguchi said the fee was not high enough to combat over tourism, advising in a post on X “tourists should pay 30,000 yen (US$284), while locals pay 10,000 yen (US$95).

Tourist surcharges in Japan are well established - usually embedded in hotel receipts or as visa fees. However, with the weakening of the yen having allowed inbound tourists to be able to spend more in Japan, the country's stagnant wages has resulted in a sharp disparity in purchasing power between locals and visitors.

The Washington Post reported last month that Japan was struggling amid a post-pandemic travel surge during which an unprecedented 25 million tourists visited the country in 2023, straining local residents and daily life.

Commenting on the issue, Linda Osti, a Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management at Bangor University in Wales, advised “introducing a higher entry fee for international tourists can also be seen from a social sustainability perspective (Himeji) castle has a cultural value for the local people, and access should be granted to them.

“Secondly, it can also be seen from an economic perspective; often cultural monuments are maintained by local authorities with the use of public money raised through taxes imposed on local people.

“Therefore, in a sense, locals have already paid for the maintenance of the building or cultural asset. “They should not be charged twice.”

Image: Himeji Castle. Credit: Shutterstock.