MIYAZU, Kyoto Prefecture--A tourist destination here cracked the top 100 in a global certification organization’s ranking of sustainable sightseeing spots the world over.

Miyazu found itself on the annually released list this year for the first time.

Stepping up efforts to win over tourists from outside Japan, the city owes much of its success to a New Yorker whose job is to promote the northern part of Kyoto Prefecture to travelers from abroad.

Jesse Efron, 41, an American, lives in the Tangocho district of Kyotango, Kyoto Prefecture.

He serves as an overseas publicity manager at Kyoto by the Sea DMO (Destination Management/ Marketing Organization), a local organization comprising seven municipalities in northern Kyoto Prefecture as well as regional businesses, to enhance tourism there.

NOT APPEALING ENOUGH

Efron arrived in Japan in 2014 and worked as an assistant foreign language teacher at an elementary school and junior high school in Kyotango for four and a half years.

He then joined the Kyoto by the Sea DMO in 2019. Efron had committed himself to public relations campaigns abroad, tour planning for inbound visitors and pamphlet development in non-Japanese languages.

On its first attempt last year, Miyazu did not secure a spot on the Netherlands-based certificate group’s Green Destinations Top 100 Stories list. The municipality talked up its Amanohashidate sandbar, which is counted among Japan’s three most prominent landscapes, but to no avail.

“Inbound sightseers must have needed a much more moving story,” said a city representative, looking back on its tourism promotion at that time.

The municipality then asked Efron to extend his assistance as a “sustainable coordinator” in the run-up to the city’s second entry to join the list. They fine-tuned tactics together with the aim of making the top 100.

TRADITION AND TOURISM

Efron proposed focusing on a textile that uses Japanese wisteria, as the time-honored craft has been passed down uninterrupted in a mountainous area in Miyazu. His idea was to link the initiative of preserving and passing on the tradition with tourism.

Taking advantage of the plant’s fibers, wisteria weaving used a long-established practice that was common nationwide long ago. However, the industry gradually declined amid the spread of the use of cotton.

The Kamiseya district in Miyazu was known until recently for women creating cloth from wisteria. A preservation group has since taken over passing down their technique.

Working with local officials, the Kyoto by the Sea DMO organizes a tour for participants to experience the tradition, among other packages.

SECOND TIME’S THE CHARM

Efron stated that the artistic heritage on the verge of extinction must gain global recognition to ensure its continuity as those individuals will offer support at some point in the future.

Following his advice, Miyazu city worked out a report themed on wisteria weaving detailing its challenges and countermeasures as a tourist option. Tips for other sightseeing destinations were alike portrayed.

The report was submitted for the screening of the Green Destinations Top 100 Stories.

The top 100 list was unveiled on Oct. 9, marking the ninth anniversary since its introduction. Ten regions from Japan, including Miyazu, were chosen.

According to Miyazu city’s accounts, it became the second such municipality in Kyoto Prefecture to win the status. Kyoto city won it in 2020 and 2021.

STUNNING STORY

At an awards ceremony held in Estonia in Northern Europe, Efron presented the city’s endeavor on wisteria weaving.

At a panel discussion, many admired the municipality’s background story for how it produced such an outcome from the perspectives of not only the environment, but interaction between the local culture and the economy.

To share the results at the ceremony, Efron visited Miyazu Mayor Masafumi Kizaki at the city offices on Oct. 16.

Efron said he will be putting the spotlight on slow tourism rather than fast sightseeing at the Kyoto by the Sea DMO from here on out.

His plan is showing from northern Kyoto Prefecture how wonderful it is to slowly embrace regional culture and nature rather than breeze through a chain of tourist destinations.

GLOBAL FAME

In the Green Destinations Top 100 Stories, 100 areas throughout the world are chosen every year that consider their tourism drives’ impact on nature, energy-reducing programs and other topics in accordance with international criteria for sustainable trips.

Their good practice stories are likewise examined.

Selected zones are allowed to display the certification entity’s specialized logo. They can also explain their attractions for travelers all over the globe on a dedicated page on the group’s website.

Listed regions draw considerable attention in the international tourism community. For example, major trip agencies in Europe and the United States aggressively recommend tours of those areas for its customers.