TokyoTomo Travel Guide

Seiji Maehara, Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, reviewed the budgetary framework of Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) for fiscal 2010 and made adjustment to 25.1 billion yen (initial request: 25.6 billion yen), 4.02 times the current allocation. The alteration of the request was decided because the Growth Strategy Meeting had approved earlier of the promotional activities for foreign visitor solicitation as an urgent matter in the scope of total tourism policy. Since specific programs are already proposed needing prompt implementation, the Finance Minister gave consent to the modification as an exceptional case.

Changes have been made on two points; one is stepped-up efforts to solicit more foreign travelers to Japan, and the other is a subsidy to tourism-based regional infrastructure improvement.

With regard to the first point, 7.1 billion yen is going to be appropriated as an extra fund for the starting year of the first-phase project toward the ultimate goal of 30 million foreign visitors. The project entails the following three programs as part of the intensive schemes: (1) an addition of 4,190 million yen for comprehensive promotion covering all of the 15 major overseas markets by transmitting commercials via international satellite broadcasting of CNN International and BBC World, (2) an addition of 910 million yen for in-depth market research and analysis for effective promotions, and (3) an addition of 460 million yen for prompting use of location sites in Japan for movie shoot and TV show organized by foreign production companies.

Meanwhile, in relation with the second point – infrastructure improvement – the subsidies for removal of utility poles to underground wires and maintenance of parking lots were decided to be absorbed in the general public works budget; therefore, request for the additional fund was abandoned and 7,620 million yen was curtailed.

Source: Travel Vision

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