10. Managing Multiple Source Markets

With the introduction of the Ten Million Plan, the Japanese government encouraged its citizens to travel overseas with the goal of reaching 10 million outbound travelers by the year 1990. The intent was partially to offset Japan’s trade imbalance during the 1980s. The plan was successful with the stronger yen and Japanese travelers’ propensity to buy duty-free products and omiyage. However, this negative balance shifted to a surplus in 2015 for the first time in 55 years, with overseas visitors to Japan spending more money than Japanese abroad. The strengthening of economies throughout other countries in the Asia Pacific region have changed the make up of overseas visitors to destinations in the region that previously saw mainly Japanese tourists. Still, Japan has continued to consistently produce relatively high numbers of overseas travelers but DMOs and other tourism organizations must monitor visitor perceptions by market and implement sound strategies in order to continue satisfying various markets’ needs and expectations.