9:45 AM - 10:15 AM
[SB3-02] Japanese Foodways and Inbound Tourism: Opportunities and Challenges
Keywords:foodways, culinary tourism, agrobiodiversity, sustainable tourism, local foods
【Introduction of speaker】
Greg de St. Maurice is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Business and Commerce at Keio University. He received his PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh and holds master's degrees from the University of Oxford, American University, and Ritsumeikan University. His key research interests include globalization, taste, "place" and place brands, craft, local foodways. His research has appeared in Gastronomica, Food, Culture, and Society, Japanese Studies and edited book volumes.
The weak yen has contributed to a resurgence of tourists from overseas in Japan since the lifting of travel restrictions implemented in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: according to the Japan National Tourism Organization more than 11.5 million visitors have come to Japan in the first four months of 2024, an almost 6% increase compared to the same period in 2019, the year that the number of overseas tourists hit an all time high. Japanese food scores highly in surveys about Japan's appeal to such visitors and close to a quarter of the over 5 trillion yen that inbound tourists spent in Japan in 2023 was spent on food and drink. Food industry businesses and Japanese localities wishing to attract visitors from overseas are engaging with recent trends in culinary tourism to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
The relationship between inbound tourism and the diversity of Japanese foodways is ambivalent and presents both opportunities and challenges. Upon arrival in Japan, many tourists from overseas seek out Japanese dishes they are familiar with because they have spread across the globe: sushi, ramen, tempura, and tonkatsu, among others. Unfamiliar foods and unexpected aspects to Japanese food culture may be a source of interest, fascination, and delight but can also be unsettling, anxiety-inducing, and even result in disgust. Stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry have a role to play in mediating between tourists less familiar with Japan and producers and other food industry actors.
Some visitors want experiences that diverge from the conventional tourist experience and the expected tourist itinerary: authentic-feeling experiences unique to the locales they go to and interactions with the people who make those places what they are. The demand for such experiential tourism presents additional opportunities for a sustainable or regenerative tourism industry nourished by local foodways. Drawing on examples ranging from Tohoku to Okinawa, this study examines the potential and limitations that this kind of experiential tourism holds, suggesting ways that producers and localities throughout Japan might engage with inbound tourism in order to bolster the diversity of Japanese foodways.
Greg de St. Maurice is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Business and Commerce at Keio University. He received his PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh and holds master's degrees from the University of Oxford, American University, and Ritsumeikan University. His key research interests include globalization, taste, "place" and place brands, craft, local foodways. His research has appeared in Gastronomica, Food, Culture, and Society, Japanese Studies and edited book volumes.
The weak yen has contributed to a resurgence of tourists from overseas in Japan since the lifting of travel restrictions implemented in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: according to the Japan National Tourism Organization more than 11.5 million visitors have come to Japan in the first four months of 2024, an almost 6% increase compared to the same period in 2019, the year that the number of overseas tourists hit an all time high. Japanese food scores highly in surveys about Japan's appeal to such visitors and close to a quarter of the over 5 trillion yen that inbound tourists spent in Japan in 2023 was spent on food and drink. Food industry businesses and Japanese localities wishing to attract visitors from overseas are engaging with recent trends in culinary tourism to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
The relationship between inbound tourism and the diversity of Japanese foodways is ambivalent and presents both opportunities and challenges. Upon arrival in Japan, many tourists from overseas seek out Japanese dishes they are familiar with because they have spread across the globe: sushi, ramen, tempura, and tonkatsu, among others. Unfamiliar foods and unexpected aspects to Japanese food culture may be a source of interest, fascination, and delight but can also be unsettling, anxiety-inducing, and even result in disgust. Stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry have a role to play in mediating between tourists less familiar with Japan and producers and other food industry actors.
Some visitors want experiences that diverge from the conventional tourist experience and the expected tourist itinerary: authentic-feeling experiences unique to the locales they go to and interactions with the people who make those places what they are. The demand for such experiential tourism presents additional opportunities for a sustainable or regenerative tourism industry nourished by local foodways. Drawing on examples ranging from Tohoku to Okinawa, this study examines the potential and limitations that this kind of experiential tourism holds, suggesting ways that producers and localities throughout Japan might engage with inbound tourism in order to bolster the diversity of Japanese foodways.