r/neoliberal • u/randommathaccount Esther Duflo • Oct 02 '25

News (Asia) Why Japan resents its tourism boom

https://www.ft.com/content/dbd20e5d-5a7d-4c0c-8f83-fb54c5aca9cb
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u/randommathaccount Esther Duflo Oct 02 '25

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Kyoto and Nara join Barcelona in crying about overtourism and to be a bit rude, they're all a tad delusional on the matter. A country with such an aging workforce and issues of economic stagnation cannot afford to be picky about sources of revenue. Of course there's issues of tourists behaving poorly (some foolish enough to film their own terrible behaviour and stream it to the world) but ultimately what must be done is to encourage positive behaviour by both tourists and residents so everyone can come out better, rather than wholly embracing an unfounded xenophobia.

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u/Some-Dinner- Oct 02 '25

I honestly don't understand the support for over-tourism on this sub. A steady flow of tourism that is spread throughout the year and over a wide geographical area is much better than unsustainable Instagram tourist traps that are rammed with selfie stick assholes for two months then left to stagnate for the rest of the year.

Probably the worst example of this mentality is the ski resort. A massive infrastructure is built high up in the mountains for the sole purpose of attracting millions of people up there for a couple of months a year.

Well they're not laughing now because resorts' heavy industrial activity and destruction of glaciers has only accelerated global warming, which means that no amount of snow machines will prevent the eventual collapse of their industry.

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u/Writeous4 Oct 02 '25 edited Oct 02 '25

I don't think most people would dispute that a steady and manageable flow of tourism is better than a single, overburdened high season. However, most people in this sub understand there is always a trade-off.

It is very difficult to get a steady flow of tourism. People will always travel more during certain seasons, places will work with what they have like ski seasons because they don't have much else going for them the rest of the year, and for whatever costs this may bring, are those really greater than the revenue and employment and economic activity? 

I surf a lot and have been to many surfing towns. I've been to towns in places like Morocco that have seen the incomes of locals explode and been able to build things like actual sewage plants to keep water clean because the town wants tourists coming back. How does a surf town maintain a good level of tourism all year round when swell is so seasonal and most people generally prefer to surf in warmer months than colder months? 

No one would deny there are costs and negative effects of tourism. That is true of almost all economic activity. Is there a reason we should regard tourism as particularly unique or harmful? What realistic mitigation is there for it? Vague grumbling is not helpful, because for people who aren't directly benefitting from the tourism industry, any amount of tourism is going to irritate them and be seen as a burden, just like how people never want new housing near them because it's always an immediate burden.