Japan , China, Korea set a goal of 30 million visitors in 2020

Tokyo : The first meeting of tourism ministers of Japan, China and South Korea agreed to raise the number of visitors between them to 30 million in 2020 from some 20 million last year, the news reports said.

Japan, China and South Korea briefly put aside territorial and historical disputes for rare trilateral talks announcing a bid to boost tourism numbers in the three countries.

The ministers also sought to work together for launching a “Visit East Asia” campaign to attract tourists from other countries during events such as the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020.

The three separately called for measures to prevent problems arising from different daily habits and to ensure the safety of tourists, Kyodo said.

In Beijing, Chinese state media  announced it will create a “blacklist” of its tourists who behave badly overseas after a series of embarrassing incidents involving Chinese travelling abroad.

The initiative comes amid simmering territorial rows between the three neighbours.

The dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over a tiny set of South Korean-controlled islets has rumbled on for decades, in tandem with highly-emotive disputes related to Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.

Beijing and Tokyo have similar issues, and the disputes are being highlighted as the region prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan held talks in Seoul last month and pledged to work towards a trilateral leadership summit at “the earliest” opportunity, but observers say such a meet is unlikely in the short term.

Joint Statement of the 7th China-Japan-ROK Ministerial Conference on Tourism

The tourism ministers of the People’s Republic of China, the State of Japan and the Republic of Korea gathered in Tokyo, the capital city of the State of Japan to participate in the 7th China-Japan-ROK Ministerial Conference on Tourism on April 12, 2015.

Since their last meeting in May 2011, Asian tourism has seen significant increase in its status in global tourism. In July 2011, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to host the Winter Olympics and the Paralympics in Pyeongchang, ROK from February to March, 2018. In September 2013, it decided to host the Summer Olympics and the Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan from July to September, 2020. It will bring golden opportunities for Asia to show its charm as a global tourist destination.

Last year, the Great Canal and the Silk Road in China, the Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites in Japan, and Namhansanseong in ROK were granted the World Heritage status by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). So far, the combined number of world heritage sites in these three countries has reached 76. They shall make full use of these world heritage sites as tourism resources to enhance people’s understanding of each other’s history and culture.

The three ministers agree that China, Japan and ROK will play an increasing role in Asian and even global tourism and their trilateral tourism cooperation will greatly stimulate social and economic progress and contribute to the peace in East Asia. The following consensus is reached on how to scale up trilateral tourism cooperation:

I. To create more conveniences for personnel exchange in the new era of trilateral tourism cooperation

i. The visitor numbers between China, Japan and ROK had increased from 13.84 million in 2006 when the first trilateral ministerial conference on tourism was held to 20.47 million in 2014, up by 1.5 times and hitting the 20-million target for the first time. The three countries will continue to work together to bring the figure to 30 million by 2020.

For this purpose, they shall increase their airlines and cruise lines, improve domestic transport conditions, create a more convenient environment for travellers by offering better Internet access and credit card settlement services, and expand personnel exchange.

ii. To scale up trilateral tourism cooperation, efforts will be made to drive trilateral government-business cooperation by focusing on two-way communication, regional-local communication, and cultural-sports-youth communication.

The tourism authorities shall work closely with the tourism industry and strengthen mutual consultation in the following areas of work:

— launching tourism cooperation between sister cities and twin towns;

— launching tourism cooperation and joint publicity and promotional activities via cultural & historical exchange on festivals/celebrations, traditional arts and world heritage;

— expanding tourism cooperation and joint publicity and promotion via international sports events;

— continuing to host the China-Japan-ROK educational tourism seminar;

— promoting cooperation in smart tourism;

— strengthening cooperation between tourism educational and research institutes;

— jointly training tourism specialists;

— sharing the latest trend and statistical information of the tourism market;

— strengthening cooperation with the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat.

II. To jointly promote the Visit East Asia Campaign

i. To open a new chapter for trilateral tourism cooperation, China, Japan and ROK, as a common tourist destination, shall launch the Visit East Asia Campaign to lure visitors from outside East Asia.

ii. The tourism authorities shall work closely with the tourism industry and strengthen mutual consultation in the following areas of work:

— Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourism authorities shall strengthen the cooperation between their branch offices in European and American countries/regions, share tourism information and discuss the content of publicity and promotion tailored to the same level of origin of tourists;

— China, Japan and ROK shall jointly develop promotional posters and brochures, etc. jointly participate in major tourism exhibitions in European and American countries/regions, jointly host business fairs and exhibitions open to the general public, and jointly organize publicity and promotional activities;

— Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourism businesses shall jointly develop and sell classic tourism routes and products.

iii. Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourism authorities shall work together to improve the interconnection inside and outside East Asia, strengthen cooperation with the tourism industry, make efficient use of air and cruise transport capacity and promote the development of “one-trip, multi-stop” tourism products within the region.

III. To strengthen regulation and improve tourism cooperation quality

Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourism authorities shall strengthen tourism cooperation, improve cooperation quality, better satisfy visitors’ needs, strive to eliminate negative effects caused by different business habits and lifestyles, solve tourism disputes, cooperate with each other in public crises, and elevate the tourism security service level to ensure the security of visitors.

IV. About the Next Meeting

The three tourism ministers agree unanimously to host their next meeting — the 8th China-Japan-ROK Ministerial Conference on Tourism — in Wuhan, Hubei province of the People’s Republic of China in 2016.

The Joint Statement was written in Chinese, Japanese and Korean in Tokyo, the State of Japan on April 12, 2015, and the three versions shall have the same legal effect.

Chairman of China National Tourism Administration

Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea

( Source: Cnta.gov.cn/ joint statement ) April 2015