Economically, Japan is full of conflicting milestones and records. After resisting against all odds for decades, it increased interest rates positively in March. The country was succumbing to high inflation (0.1%), albeit in its own way. Meanwhile, there is an unprecedented tourist boom. The hospitality industry saw an “opportunity” in the influx of visitors: to impose two price levels on restaurants.

Tourists pay more. Nikkei reported this this week. Japan’s restaurant industry operates a two-tiered pricing system in the country’s most touristy spots. You don’t have to be very clever to understand this: Restaurants are trying to capitalize on the influx of foreign visitors; This strategy also aims not to scare away local customers.

A hotel for tourists. There is something as obvious as purchasing power behind this price increase. Restaurant companies are more attracted to tourists because, in essence, they are willing to pay more. Miki Watanabe, president of the major Watami restaurant chain, explained it this way: “Japanese people don’t buy 3,000 yen sirloin, but tourists who come to Japan say it’s cheap and buy it.”

Moreover, the famous restaurant chain turned its business around. Restaurants will now only be opened in places where foreign tourist demand is expected.

Don’t scare the Japanese customer. In the equation, restaurants looking to expand in Japan know they can’t do so unless they also appeal to Japanese people. That’s why this two-tier pricing is increasing. For example, Tamatebako, a seafood buffet and barbecue restaurant that opened in April in Shibuya, Tokyo’s popular nightlife district, currently has different prices for local residents and foreign tourists.

There are 50 restaurants in Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai, a shopping center opened next to the traditional Toyosu market. In this area, which has been filled with foreign tourists since the day it opened, the local market in front continues its quiet life. The prices of many of the dishes served in restaurants in Banrai are much higher than in the exclusive Ginza area.

And it’s not just hospitality. Foreigners traveling to Japan’s UNESCO-listed Himeji Castle will soon have to pay six times more than domestic visitors. It tells how the city’s mayor tries to combat rising tourism and a weak local currency that makes the country too attractive to visitors. It was reported that foreign tourists will account for 30% of the 1.48 million visitors to Himeji Castle in 2023.

A ratio as sustainability. In this context, Linda Osti, professor of tourism management at Bangor University, told the Washington Post: “The introduction of a higher entry fee for international tourists can also be seen from a social sustainability perspective; “The castle has cultural value for local people and they should be given access.”

He also added another interesting point: “It can also be looked at from an economic perspective. Cultural monuments are protected by public money collected by local governments through taxes collected from local people. So in a sense, local people have already done this. They are charged twice the fees paid for the maintenance of the building or cultural property.” “It should not be taken.”

What does the law say? Shogo Yonemitsu, president of restaurant operating Trice, advocates two-tier fixing. “Given the cost of serving foreign visitors to Japan, we have no choice but to keep prices higher,” he explained. Meanwhile, lawyer Shohei Furukawa, who specializes in consumer protection laws, added: “Two-tier pricing is not a legal issue as long as the prices are adequately disclosed. It all depends on how consumers perceive it.”

Tourists, opportunity and problem. In the background is the explosion experienced by the Japanese country. Without going any further, last March it broke its own monthly record for visitor influx: three million tourists (69.5% more than in March last year). Although it is not good news, the hospitality industry is generally lucky.

The enormous flow of visitors also has its drawbacks. For example, in Kyoto, in the legendary geisha district of Gion, it was decided to ban access to some private roads due to overcrowding of people who wanted to take photos with them. There will also be a daily limit on visits to climb Mount Fuji this summer, and you’ll have to pay 2,000 yen for access. The aim is to slow down the mass of tourists flocking to the most famous road. Even one of the best views was banned due to some visitor behavior.

This is yen’s fault. Of course, behind this disproportionate increase in tourists, there is another news that is not good for the country’s economy. The weakness of the yen attracts visitors from Europe and the USA; In both cases, the stronger the currency makes the cost of visiting cheaper. An eye-opening fact: The yen has lost more than 40% of its value against the US dollar in the last five years.

In any case, it is strange because this is Japan, but such “foreign taxes” are not new. Cities like Paris and Amsterdam have also recently increased their tourism taxes. Even Venice imposed a daily visit fee, valid for both foreigners and non-Venetian Italians. In any case, the goal is always the same: to challenge overtourism.

Picture | RawPixel, Cory Doctorow, have fun

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