By SHINJI HAKOTANI/ Staff Writer
December 14, 2021 at 07:00 JST
KYOTO--Activist Chieko Fukuta reckons she has figured out a way to soothe wounded local sensibilities over the clumsy and often unintended rude behavior of foreign tourists, whose numbers here have exploded in recent years.
The 23-year-old is promoting the concept of “touristship” in the hope of encouraging tourists, local residents, businesses and tourism industry players to show more consideration to one another in travel destinations.
In short, she advocates responsible tourism ethics.
Born in Chiba, Fukuta enrolled at Kyoto University in 2017, which meant moving to this historic city that was the nation’s capital centuries ago.
A newspaper article about “overtourism” caught her eye one day as Kyoto was inundated with inbound tourists and local residents were increasingly put out by the amount of litter on the city’s quaint streets.
Hoping to get a better grasp of the situation, Fukuta interviewed hundreds of residents. She came away feeling that overtourism was caused by a lack of understanding of each other’s cultures and general misunderstandings.
It prompted her to start thinking about a code of ethics for those involved in the tourism industry, much like the ideal of good sportsmanship.
In fall 2019, while still attending college, Fukuta founded a general incorporated association named Chie-no-Wa to offer lectures to discuss tourist behavior in sightseeing spots.
Instead of establishing concrete standards for behavior, she urges everybody to do what they can. Simple things like taking trash home and erecting signs at temple sites to show that tourists are expected to speak quietly make all the difference.
Her group also sells bracelets as part of its activities with the intention of using the proceeds to help prevent overtourism.
A growing number of cities may find themselves overrun with tourists after the COVID-19 crisis settles down.
“I want to promote touristship and make it part of universal language,” Fukuta said.
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Chieko Fukuta (Photo by Shinji Hakotani)
