The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) plans to create a new system of developing an inbound tourism market at rural societies in the country.
MAFF expects the system will be effective to authorize “Most Exciting Japanese Villages” (provisional name) by the way of comprehensively assessing a total value of rural resources in each applicant village such as traditional diets and farm production, cultures related to farmers’ activities, and availabilities of attractive landscapes.
Under the new system, every local society will be entitled to apply for MAFF’s authorization to be a “Most Exciting Japanese Village” by providing MAFF with its project documents regarding an annual target of receiving foreign tourists, sightseeing information and the like. Farmers’ organizations, travel agencies and other groups concerned in the society will jointly file the application at MAFF.
The system will be finalized in March. In the fiscal 2016, MAFF is scheduled to make an official announcement on the first list of “Most Exciting Japanese Villages” after completing its authorization works.
Overseas tourists visiting Japan have tremendously increased in recent years. Villages and towns are expected to attract some of those tourists who will make some contributions to those local societies in increasing demands for their farm products and employment opportunities at the rural communities.
Many communities have their own traditional foods depending respectively on their local agriculture, forestry and fishery industries. They have also been keeping their own cultural and natural heritages such as terrace farming, traditional festivals and dances. These resources will be key factors in MAFF’s comprehensive assessment for authorizing “Most Exciting Japanese Villages.”
(Feb. 13, 2016)