The Shikoku District Transport Bureau has made the decision to suspend a statistical survey that has been in effect for 10 years, counting the number of inbound travelers. The bureau had commissioned tourist attractions and facilities in the region to record these numbers. However, doubts were raised about the accuracy of the survey as some facilities were determining whether tourists were from abroad based on their physical appearance.
The survey took place in all four of the Shikoku region’s prefectures, with 15 facilities in each prefecture reporting the total number of travelers and the number of foreign visitors among them to the bureau. According to the survey, there were 529,000 overseas travelers in 24 locations during fiscal year 2023, which was over six times higher than the previous fiscal year.
On September 20th, it was announced that the bureau would be stopping this survey. The decision came after it was discovered that some facilities were recording travelers as coming from overseas based on attributes such as skin color. The bureau did not prescribe a specific methodology for conducting this survey.
Accommodation organizations were able to accurately count foreign visitors by asking for passports due to regulations under the Hotel Business Law. However, other tourist sites relied on appearance alone when determining if someone was a foreign visitor or not.
The bureau stated that because different locations conducted surveys each fiscal year, there was a lack of accuracy and validity in this data collection method. It is important to note that this independent survey conducted by the bureau does not impact government statistics.
In contrast, organizations such as Japan National Tourism Organization and Japan Tourism Agency record visitor numbers by checking passports at immigration or interviewing travelers directly. Local governments also gather data through interviews with tourists.
Although previous survey data is still available on their website, representatives from Shikoku District Transport Bureau have expressed their intention to consider how these surveys should be handled moving forward.
Masayuki Watanabe, a specially appointed professor from Daito Bunka University commented on this issue stating that perceiving someone as a foreigner solely based on appearance is not only inaccurate for conducting surveys but also constitutes microaggression and leads to discrimination unintentionally.
