Dec 8

Project: How much tourism revenue has JET generated for Japan?

Return on JET-vestment, Travel/Tourism, Uncategorized Add Comment (7)

Update 5/9/11: CLICK HERE to read “Stories from the JET-Tourist Tally Project“

Update: We’ve set up a Google Form to collect responses as an alternative to doing this via e-mail.

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Thanks to the Japan National Tourism Organization for its help in spreading the word about this project.

The “JET-Tourists Tally Project“

Last updated:  05/09/2011 (Thanks to JETAA UK and JETAA DC for letting its members know about the survey!)

• Tourists brought to Japan by JETs: 2,009
• Visitor Days: 22,574
• Respondents: 347
• Estimated tourism revenue (¥10,000/day): ¥225,740,000 (about $2,687,381 @ US$1=84yen)
• Estimated tourism revenue per JET respondent: ¥650,548 (about $7,745 @ US$1=84yen)
• Conclusion? At a minimum, JETs generate the equivalent of 1/5 to 1/6 of their salary for the Japanese economy.  This is in addition to other returns on investment (e.g., diplomatic, financial and cultural) provided to Japan by participants in the JET Program.

(See further below for breakdown by prefecture.)

Here’s a simple way for every JET and JET alum to do their part to support the JET Programme and the JET Alumni Association.

• Just fill out this simple Google Form that we set up:  https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFFPeW5zdUZjQ3RZbEJJQ2IzNHJCZHc6MQ&ifq

or, if you prefer….

• E-mail visitors [at] jetwit.com and
• Tell us how many people you are personally responsible for causing to visit Japan (both during and since JET).

Please make sure to include:

1. Number of tourists (e.g., Mom + Dad + two brothers = 4 people)
2. Total number of days they stayed in Japan (e.g., If Mom & Dad + two brothers each stayed for 10 days, that’s 40 total days of tourist travel)
3. Your name + position on JET (ALT/CIR/SEA)
   
4. Your Prefecture + city/town and years on JET (e.g., 2006-10) (this is vital info!)
5. Any comments, stories or additional info you want to share

Nearly all of us had relatives and friends come and visit us in Japan.  Some of us have brought student groups and organized other exchanges.  All of this has provided tourism revenue for the Japanese economy.  The goal of this project is to determine, at a minimum, the amount of tourism revenue for which JET is directly responsible.

This information is particularly important amidst ongoing discussions of costs associated with the JET Programme and the JET Alumni Association.  Many of the short and long term benefits have simply not been factored in.  So email visitors@jetwit.com with your responses and let’s make sure this info does get factored in to future discussions.

We will continue to update the numbers in this post.  Please check back periodically for updates.

Note:  We are assuming a rather conservative estimate of Y10,000 per day (approximately $100) for all tourism expenditures combined (e.g., lodging, travel, food, entertainment and other tourist expenditures).  Some people flew Japanese airlines, others did not.  Some stayed in hotels, others stayed for free on the couch.  All in all, 10,000 yen/day is a very low-end estimate.

Special domo arigatou for their ongoing help with this project to Joe Silvagni (Nagasaki-ken, 2008-10), Mike Shu (Hyogo-ken, 2005-08) and Sam Lederer (Shizuoka-ken, 2005-07).

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1.  Hokkaidō

Hokkaidō

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____
  

2.  Tōhoku

Aomori Prefecture

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Iwate Prefecture

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Miyagi Prefecture

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Akita Prefecture

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Yamagata Prefecture

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Fukushima Prefecture

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

3.  Kantō

Ibaraki

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Tochigi

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Gunma

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Saitama

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Chiba

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Tokyo

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Kanagawa

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

4.  Chūbu

Niigata

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Toyama

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Ishikawa

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Fukui

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Yamanashi

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Nagano

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Gifu

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Shizuoka

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Aichi

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

5.  Kansai

Mie

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Shiga

• __ tourists
• Yen:  _____

Kyoto

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Osaka

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Hyōgo

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Nara

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Wakayama

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

6.  Chūgoku

Tottori

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Shimane

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Okayama

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Hiroshima

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Yamaguchi

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

7.  Shikoku

Tokushima

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Kagawa

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Ehime

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Kōchi

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

8.  Kyūshū

Fukuoka

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Saga

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Nagasaki

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Kumamoto

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Ōita

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Miyazaki

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Kagoshima

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____

Okinawa

• Tourists: _____
  
• Revenue:  _____