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Professor Yamashita of the Faculty Faculty of Economics gave a keynote speech at the Building a New Future for Tourism Forum hosted by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau.Hachioji Campus

On Friday, October 3, 2025, Professor Shinichi Yamashita of Department of Tourism Management Faculty of Economics Teikyo University, was invited to the Building a New Future for Tourism Forum, hosted by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, at National Chengchi University (Taipei, Taiwan), where he gave a keynote speech on the theme of "Tourism Nation Policies and Creating Sustainable Tourist Destinations."

In his lecture, Professor Yamashita introduced successful examples of Japanese tourism policy and offered recommendations for the development of tourism in Taiwan. He emphasized that the goal of creating sustainable tourism regions is to "achieve resident happiness," and that achieving this requires digital transformation (DX) and the achievement of the SDGs. He compared the global rankings of Taiwan and Japan, showing that Taiwan currently surpasses Japan in happiness, digital competitiveness, smart cities, and achievement of the SDGs, and proposed the importance of strategies modeled on Nordic countries such as Denmark and Finland.
He also pointed out the effectiveness of a strategy targeting wealthy people in Europe, the United States, and Australia, given the current situation of a weak yen and a strong Taiwanese yuan. He introduced the revitalization of Kurokawa Onsen and the efforts of Toyama Prefecture's Rakudoan as examples of success in Japan, and explained the importance of thoroughly improving the welcoming environment and creating high added value. Furthermore, he pointed out that the four elements that Japan has identified as its strengths - climate, nature, culture, and food - are also applicable to Taiwan. He specifically explained the ripple effect that creating high added value in adventure tourism will have on the local economy and its compatibility with national parks, and recommended promoting it in Taiwan.
He also proposed the promotion of responsible tourism as a measure to address overtourism, an issue facing Taiwan as well. He emphasized the importance of tourists being responsible and respectful of nature, culture, and people, and introduced examples such as Sustainable Finland (a national initiative in Finland that enables tourists and the tourism industry to enjoy nature and culture while protecting it) and Tiaki Promise (an initiative in New Zealand in which travelers promise to protect nature and culture and behave safely and responsibly). He concluded his speech by highlighting the significance of Taiwan establishing a "Taiwan Promise" that would communicate a code of conduct for tourists to the world.

At the end of the forum, Chen Yu-hsiu, Commissioner of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, said, "Today's forum is not the end, but the starting point for a new future for tourism in Taiwan," and concluded the forum by expressing his determination for the future of tourism in Taiwan.

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