Hokkaido Town of Biei Addressing Overtourism; Working to Secure Resources to Fund Positive Tourism Promotion

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:25 JST, August 21, 2024

SAPPORO — The town of Biei in Hokkaido has launched several measures to address overtourism, with the town government asking the prefectural police for cooperation to place a time-limited ban on parking on streets around a popular sightseeing spot that foreign tourists flock to. The town also plans to renovate a parking area and build more public restrooms to help ease congestion, and it is also considering introducing a new tourist tax.

Concerns of locals

On Aug. 6, two security guards with whistles and megaphones closely watched passing cars while guiding tourists on a street near the Seven Stars Tree that stands on a hill in a rural area of the town. The tree’s name derives from the fact that the oak tree was once used as the design for a cigarette maker’s packaging.

The tree has become a popular place to take photos. As the number of foreign tourists has increased in recent years, occurrences of improper behavior such as tourist buses parking on streets and tourists taking photos while sitting on the road have caused concerns among residents.

To address the problem, the town government asked the prefectural police to handle the situation. The Asahikawa Higashi police station, which has jurisdiction over the town, designated two sections measuring about 500 meters each on a town road as no-parking areas from July 22 to Aug. 21. Traffic signs have also been installed.

“After the traffic signs were put up, it has become easier to ask people violating the rules to pay heed,” said a 58-year-old man who has been working as a security guard since June.

More public restrooms

There are other photogenic sightseeing spots in the town such as Biei Shirogane Blue Pond and Shikisai-no-Oka Flower Park. Last fiscal year, about 2.39 million tourists visited the town, which has a population of less than 10,000 people.

Similar problems have occurred in various sightseeing spots, and the town government began building more public restrooms at the Biei Shirogane Blue Pond as the shortage of public restrooms causes congestion there. A parking area for the Seven Stars Tree will be renovated in autumn or later to accommodate more buses.

To pay for these measures, the town government began discussions in June on how to secure funds, setting up a committee consisting of tax experts and officials from the tourism, commerce and other industries.

Because most of the tourists stay at hotels outside the town, the committee is considering asking visitors to the sightseeing spots in the town to pay an “entrance tax,” according to the town government.

The committee is expected to come up with a plan on a course of action this autumn.

“Since the town’s tax revenue is likely to decrease in the future due to the declining population, we hope people visiting the town will share some of the burden of promoting tourism and maintaining tourism and other infrastructure,” an official at the town’s commerce, industry and tourism promotion department said.