Int’l Hot Springs Summit Vows Further Cooperation

May 28, 2018

Beppu, Oita Pref.- An international meeting of administrative and other officials from areas hosting hot spring resorts have vowed to continue sharing information and promote exchanges for the further development of such resorts.

They made the pledge in a declaration adopted on Saturday at the International Onsen Summit, which was held for three days until Sunday in the city of Beppu, Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan, among some 1,000 people from 17 countries, including the Asian nation.

The meeting was hosted by the Oita prefectural government. Onsen means hot springs in Japanese. Beppu is one of the biggest and most famous hot spring resorts in Japan.

On the second day of the summit, circumstances regarding hot springs in each country and region were introduced in a plenary session. In Europe, many guests stay at hot spring resorts for long periods because therapies using hot springs are covered by health insurance, one participant said.

Later in the day, discussions on three hot spring-related topics--tourism, energy, and medical care, health and beauty--were held by working groups.

Regarding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, David James, director of tourism for the city government of Bath in Britain, said that foreign visitors to Japan are interested in regional areas.

If Japan starts efforts early to appeal to foreigners, it would be able to continue attracting visitors from abroad after the quadrennial sporting events, he said. "Don't wait until the last minutes to take that opportunity," James said, noting, "we still have people coming" after the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The aging of society in Japan is "a fantastic opportunity," Jerome Phelipeau, who operates a hot spring therapy facility in Vichy, France, said, encouraging Japanese hot spring resort operators to target health-minded elderly customers.

The summit "made me realize that Japanese onsen resorts have many unique and good attributes," said Sakae Saito, mayor of the city of Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan. Atami, along with Beppu, is a well-known hot spring resort.

"I want to get back to basics and develop attractions," he said. Jiji Press