Midori Gotsu Associate Professor Faculty of Economics Department of Regional Economics, Teikyo University
After graduating from the Department of Tourism, Faculty of Sociology, Rikkyo University, he started working at a travel agency. After working at a think tank and a consulting firm, he deepened his research at Graduate School and then researched rural tourism. At a think tank and consulting firm, he is involved in a variety of domestic and international cases as a tourism and regional revitalization professional. Since 2015, he has been working at Faculty of Economics, Teikyo University, Associate Professor since 2018. He has a particularly deep knowledge of rural tourism in Italy, and has a wide range of knowledge ranging from geopolitical perspectives to cultural understanding. Currently, he is making various proposals regarding the value creation of rural tourism in Japan.
To summarize this report ...
``Rural'' is a word that refers to ``agricultural, forestry, and fishing areas,'' and includes diverse elements such as history and culture.
``Rural tourism'' is not just sightseeing, but refers to tourism that allows people to experience the region itself.
To achieve this, the ``local people'' who are the main actors are required to reacquaint themselves with their own regions and put into practice new value creation.
Rural tourism is particularly advanced in Italy, and the people of each region have a strong sense of pride in their region and are highly motivated to put ideas into practice.
In Japan as well, there is a growing need for initiatives to increase regional value, and there is a need to foster this kind of awareness.
From the perspective of the SDGs, there are many diverse regions in the world, each with a different history and culture.
The spread of rural tourism is expected to foster a sense of independence in each region, providing opportunities for sustainable use of local resources and a shift toward new growth.
Pride of “rural”
I first learned about the term rural tourism when I was working as a town planning consultant. At that time, I was working in the tourism field, and was involved in various planning projects for Japan. Then, similar problems will appear everywhere. There are issues of financial resources, relationships with central ministries and agencies, and a lack of human resources. Since the issues are extremely similar, I believed that it was necessary to bring in know-how from outside Japan in order to find a fundamental solution, so I began researching Italian tourism in 2015. Particular attention was paid to South Tyrol in northern Italy. It is a region with advanced local autonomy and has its own financial resources. It has achieved high results in terms of human resource development, and was known for its active participation of women in particular.
In Japan, the word ``rural'' can be appropriately translated as ``agriculture, forestry, and fishing areas.'' Rural tourism encompasses concepts used in recent years such as agri-tourism and green tourism, which involve vacationing on farms and rural areas. The theme is to revitalize an area by utilizing comprehensive resources such as people, things, environment, and culture accumulated in the area. Europe is particularly active, and a variety of know-how is being developed, but there is a historical background behind this. For example, South Tyrol is a disputed territory between Austria and Italy, and has a history of being ruled by both countries. Independence movements have also been active. As a result, they have won autonomy and developed a strong sense of mission and autonomy to revitalize their own regions. That is why we are serious and greedy about the use, development, and reinforcement of local resources, including branding. Europe's complex history is filled with such regions, which provide the basis for the development of rural tourism.
Japan's "rural"
For about 20 years, I have been involved in the area of Wazuka Town in Kyoto Prefecture as an advisor. It is located southeast of Kyoto City and has a population of approximately 3,500 people. Although it is a famous area for producing Uji tea, it is said that it will become a marginal village by 2040. At the time I was involved, there were 40,000 tourists, but now the number has grown to over 200,000. As the population and industry were rapidly declining, there was a strong underlying sense of crisis that something had to be done about their region. Particularly in Japan, where relationships with central government agencies are emphasized and there is a tendency to rely on subsidies, it is difficult to focus on revitalization programs based on local uniqueness, which makes it difficult to create ideas that balance independence and sustainability. is the challenge. What is important, after all, is local self-awareness. The essence of rural tourism is that, from the perspective of people coming from outside, there is value in experiencing the uniqueness of each region. On the other hand, from an internal perspective, it is important to understand one's own culture, history, and strengths, and utilize tourism for economic independence and revitalize the region. In other words, it is the act of maximizing one's own strengths by using others. In Wazuka Town, the detailed accumulation of these actions led to results. However, the reality is that there are few such success stories in Japan.
As a source of human resources
One of the reasons why the efforts of Wazuka Town in Kyoto are achieving results is the quality of the local human resources. Tea farmers are a powerful force in this region, with some having annual sales of 100 million yen. It is extremely important that there are people with power in the production area. This is because it allows us to be on the same page when working on a project. For example, in any region, it is quite possible for a person who has retired from a government job and is well-regarded by those around him to start a small business and revitalize the region. If we have human resources, it will be possible for a small number of elite people who are familiar with rural tourism to come in and improve the environment while transferring their know-how, increasing the sustainability of the project. Furthermore, we must not forget that Wazuka Town was tolerant of outsiders. It has a history of rural people taking part in work camps run by foreign volunteers. This started 20 years ago when a certain NGO approached us about having foreign volunteers work in the tea plantations in Wazuka Town. It seems that there were various issues in the beginning, but as the activities continued, the area became tolerant of foreigners and young people coming from outside. This is a good example of how the foundation for rural ruleism is created through such accumulation.
To new developments
I am currently expanding my research to Austria and France, and hope to begin a case study in the United States in 2024. In Japan, we are also supporting the establishment of local promotion organizations for rural tourism. Rural tourism can be described as a regional strength improvement program. In areas where projects are progressing smoothly, we provide thorough training to people who are highly motivated to live there. In Italy, when farmers open accommodation facilities, they are required to complete 80 to 90 hours of training, which covers everything from accounting to taxation. Various seminars were also held in Wazuka-cho, Kyoto, and a small business run by female farmers involved in small-scale food processing took root. Another benefit is that we can now utilize online resources, making it easier to develop programs that encourage independence and sustainability.
In Italy, the Agri-Turismo Law was enacted in 1985, and it clearly states that the law is intended to utilize tourism to protect agriculture. Specifically, when comparing income from agriculture and income from tourism, it is stipulated that tourism must not exceed income from agriculture. South Tyrol has its own legislative authority, so it has arranged this so that the points that cannot be exceeded are read as working hours rather than income. In order to protect and develop their way of life and historical assets, they are creating a relationship of coexistence and mutual prosperity with tourists. Although it is difficult to immediately create the same environment in Japan, we believe that development using our own methodology is fully possible.
SDGs value
One of the problems facing all developed countries is the declining birthrate and aging population. In particular, the sense of crisis in the region has increased without exception. In addition, the world's challenges revolve around diversity. Many countries in South America, India, and Africa have a history as colonies. More complex training is also essential to encourage independence. The environment surrounding agriculture is becoming increasingly harsh. Part of the cause is global warming. Around the world, it is becoming difficult to continue farming on traditional farmland. However, farmers do not want to leave the land. In South Tyrol, there were many cases in the history of ceding land to Italy when large numbers of people immigrated, but farmers remained behind because they were unable to abandon their farmland. In the face of the macro-crisis of environmental change in the global era, regions are having to face new challenges.
In a region, there are not only corporations and individuals, but also a microcosm of the SDGS, colored by countless facts ranging from the global environment to history. Through rural tourism, we think about the "region" rather than "tourism." The essential purpose of our activities is to enhance the power of the region. That's why the know-how we accumulate can be applied to all regions of the world. The development of diverse methods in each region means that solutions that can be applied in other regions will also be born. Japan believes that this is the beginning of the full-fledged development of rural tourism. Our potential will bring new value that will enhance the sustainability of various regions in the world in the future.
