Consequently, we are not just assisting in the enhancement of tourism and travel, but we are handling a great diplomatic activity as part of working towards cross-cultural contact.
In an age of mass tourism, since almost all citizens meet and exchange information in person, it is appropriate to call it not 'international' exchange but 'interpersonal'. It frequently happens that a Japanese person goes abroad to understand the situation of the country visited, while a foreigner comes to Japan and experiences various situations, and we have so far called this 'international' exchange. But considering that the word 'international' refers to diplomatic issues between countries, it is better to call it 'interpersonal'. The great significance of travel and tourism lies in supporting such 'interpersonal' activities. It is the time when we must shift our concept from consigning international exchange only to official diplomats and participants in international events, to entrusting such contact to the individuals of Japan on a personal level. In conclusion, it is travel and tourism that promote international exchange and together support cross-cultural interaction.
I believe that it is time for each community to have a branch of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encouraging every individual to become an ambassador for the country. This is not to be regarded as travel and tourism but as cross-cultural exchange, of which tourism is one of the major and essential elements. Even though present overseas travel, especially that of the Japanese, poses various problems, we are just managing direct diplomacy. When the industry reaches maturity, we will see the number of foreign tourists to Japan increasing, as was illustrated with the case of the grand tour. Englishmen traveled abroad but initially those visiting foreign countries outnumbered foreigners received by England. However, when the county's foreign travel industry peaked in the 19th century as a result of the grand tour, England had many visitors from abroad.
The thriving overseas travel in Japan, therefore, will lead to a rapid increase of foreign tourists to Japan in the future and the great benefit of tourism is that it has a large impact on cross-cultural exchange, something which is very important to Japan.
I began my speech discussing the poor image haunting travel and tourism. In fact, I myself strongly feel that every individual should, as a self-confident ambassador of their country, do their utmost to rid Japan of this image and that is what I really wanted to say.
