Visa waiver is an effective tool to promote tourism among economies, said Yasuto Kawarabayashi, Deputy Director General of the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), on June 19.

Visitors to the Suoi Mooc tourism site in Quang Binh province

Japan has eased visa requirements for many countries, Kawarabayashi told a Vietnam News Agency reporter on the sidelines of the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Sustainable Tourism in Ha Long city, northern Quang Ninh province.

Speaking of today’s challenges to tourism development, the Japanese official said there is not any common strategy for all APEC economies to cope with the challenges, including climate change. 

The answer depends on the real situation in each country; and for Japan, conservation of natural resources remains the country’s top priority towards sustainable tourism development, he noted.

He stressed on the importance of protecting both natural and cultural heritages and enhancing benefits for not only tourists but also local communities.

Challenges lie in how to make use of the natural heritage to attract visitors and protect the heritage at the same time, Kawarabayashi said, citing the fact that Japan has opened many natural forests to tourists and also managed to preserve them well.

According to the JNTO, Japan welcomes 24 million holidaymakers last year and will design new strategies for the country to achieve 40 million visitors by 2020 and 60 million by 2030.

VNA