estimated 8.5-12 million people. Among other things, these require attention.
The second scheme is the provision of discounted package tours with chartered flights to make use of the local airports which recently have been operating actively. This will attract many tourists to Japan and will be a service in addition to the existing regular flights.
Thirdly, we will create a business plan related to industrial expositions and exhibitions, and our fourth strategy is to invite school parties from Korea.
In addition to these plans, we think it necessary to create a package tour tailored to the individual which includes the international exchange programs sponsored by local governments. As was pointed out by the video from Australia, we are in need of a revolutionary marketing strategy to counteract the results of the Yen appreciation in the past, as well as creating new aspects of Japan and promoting them through sophisticated slogans. Thank you.
Prof. Abe : Thank you. Mr. Shimizu has discussed various ways to enhance inbound tourism to the point of describing the basic developmental direction of JTB's tour packages, and I am sure many of you found it very informative.
We have had presentations from three panelists. Mr. Ido discussed how to deal with inbound tourism in the context of promoting international tourism, while introducing the Rekishi-kaido project. Ms, Uehara presented international exchange at the grass-roots level, making it a tourism product, as well as discussing the problems derived from such activities. Finally Mr. Shimizu suggested new package tours and ways of providing information, in order to overcome institutional and structural difficulties. His suggestions were based on the idea that it is necessary to establish outbound tourism firmly before attempting to enhance inbound tourism.
The common point raised throughout the panel discussion is the issue of communities making products and selling them, which encompasses to whom such products should be sold, whether the product be a package tour or other related product. When there is an obvious tourism resource such as a historic city, it immediately becomes a product in its elf. However, even in a small community the local residents can play a role in the globalization of the country.
I would like the three panelists to comment on this point, in addition to what has so far been unsaid. Mr. Ido, please.
Mr. Ido : I would like to first say something that I did not mention before. There is something which the national government must do in order to double the number of people involved in tourism exchange. It must increase the budget for tourism. While many tourist bureaus in the rest of the world produce commercials for television, of Japan's 3 billion yen budget, accounting for only 0.004 % of government expenditure, 2.5 billion yen is given over to the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO). Divided among the 15 branch offices of the JNTO, the budget per office is 100-200 million yen. I doubt that they can achieve the aim of doubling the number of tourists, from 1 to 2 million, with such a small budget and few staff. Therefore, I would like to make a request to both the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance that they increase it.
With regards to money, even an organization such as ours has only a limited budget for advertising abroad. Our present budget for overseas PR is 10-15 million yen and that money enables us only to scratch the surface. It is necessary for various organizations to collaborate with each other to succeed within the financial restrictions. There are organizations covering an extensive area in the Kinki region, one of which is located in the northern part, and the other to the south of the Kii Peninsula, in addition to the Three Cities' Association and our Rekishi-kaido Council. If these four work together, jointly they can provide a complete range of attractions within the region. The northern part of the Kinki region and the Kii Peninsula can offer gourmet food, nature and hot
