Japan to Boost LGBT Tourism in Disaster-Hit Tohoku

July 25, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Reconstruction Agency is gearing up to draw LGBT tourists to the six prefectures making up the Tohoku northeastern region, which was hit by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, as part of its initiative to attract foreign visitors.

The agency believes that tourism information can spread easily in the LGBT, or lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, community once the region wins a high reputation as a tourist destination among such people.

It plans to offer seminars for accommodation operators in the six prefectures--Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata and Fukushima--on creating an appropriate environment to welcome LGBT travelers.

Specifically, the agency will provide them with information such as basic knowledge about LGBT people and the size of the market for products and services related to sexual minorities, and introduce marketing ideas such as weddings for same-sex couples at hotels.

The agency also plans to offer promotional tours, in which participants will visit sightseeing spots in Tohoku and stay at LGBT-friendly hotels.

The number of foreign visitors who made overnight stays in Japan in 2017 stood at 71,805,000, up about threefold from the level in 2010, but the growth in the number of foreigners who did so in Tohoku was smaller, at some twofold, according to data from the Japan Tourism Agency.

For fiscal 2018, which ends in March next year, the Reconstruction Agency has selected 10 model projects for increasing the number of visitors from abroad, including one highlighting LGBT tourism.

The agency wants local communities in Tohoku to welcome sexual minorities positively so they are comfortable during their stays in their destinations and to help them enjoy local attractions different from those featured in other tour products.

It will set up a travel website for LGBT people and place Tohoku promotion ads in magazines targeting such people.

"We hope LGBT tourism will take root in Tohoku" and develop into a profitable business, an official at the agency said. Jiji Press