The future of Japan’s tourism: Path for sustainable growth towards 2020 McKinsey Japan and Travel, Transport and Logistics Practice October 2016 Authored by: André Andonian Tasuku Kuwabara Naomi Yamakawa Ryo Ishida Cover image: The famous torii gate of the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima. The future of Japan’s tourism: Path for sustainable growth towards 2020 Preface Japans tourism industry is on the verge of becoming a major economic engine for the country. In 2020, Japan will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games and enjoy a global platform for its people, culture, and landmarks. Recently, tourism has been positioned as an engine to solve social challenges in Japan and support economic growth. The March 2015 McKinsey Global Institute report, The Future of Japan: Reigniting Productivity and Growth, described how Japan has the potential to more than double its annual GDP growth, to 3 percent, by increasing productivity. This insight is also applicable to tourism, and this report investigates the challenges and potential impact of several initiatives aimed at addressing obstacles to realizing its inbound tourism goals. This report is the result of collaboration between McKinsey’s Japan office and the firm’s global Travel, Transport and Logistics Practice. The research team consisted of Shogo Akimoto, Shohei Ishigami, Minami Maeda, and Yusuke Shimada. We are grateful for the advice and input of many McKinsey colleagues, including Urs Binggeli, Alex Dichter, Masahiro Komatsubara, Diaan-Yi Lin, and Cheryl SH Lim, all of whom provided in