April 16, 2006
by Inoue Kumiko
I have made a Kyoto tour for foreigners. First of all, I would like to mention ① my target group, ② the season for my tour, ③ accommodation. The target group for my tour are people who live in East Asia, especially Korea and China. I have chosen winter as the season of my tour and an inexpensive traditional hotel or ‘Ryokan’ for accommodation.
My tour of Kyoto will be profitable for Kyoto City and meaningful for tourists. According to one newspaper article I read few tourists visit Kyoto during the winter. Of course, we know a lot of tourists visit in spring, summer, and fall and during these seasons there are traffic jams and large crowds in Kyoto. Therefore, if foreigners visit during winter, Kyoto City can profit and foreigners can tour smoothly and avoid crowds. That is the first profitable point of this tour.
The reason why I chose Asian tourists, such as Chinese, Koreans, and Taiwanese the number is that flights from Asia to Kyoto are not long and flights have increased in recent years. This means it easier for Asian tourists to come Kyoto than other foreign tourists, and they can become return visitors. That is the second profitable point.
Finally, I have chosen an inexpensive and traditional ‘ryokan’ for their accommodation. I know some medium-priced and small ‘ryokan’ that went into the red because of new hotels; therefore, I recommend traditional ‘ryokan’ to tourists. That is the third profitable point.
On my tour I would like to Kinkakuzi, Arashiyama, Kiyomizudera, and Shinkyogoku. I know foreigners would like colorful tourist attractions such as Kinkakuzi and Kiyomizudera. I also chose Arashiyama, where I once had a part-time job, because it has many tourist attractions such as Asiyu, Tenryuji and various gift shops. I chose Shinkyogoku, a thriving shopping street in Kyoto, because I would like to show not only historical Kyoto, but also modern. That will round out my tour.
Lastly, I hope that the beautiful old city of Kyoto will continue to develop economically and culturally.