Japan’s Lodging Taxes Grow as It Combats Overtourism, Fuels Growth

In order to fuel tourism investment and combat overtourism, close to 100 locales are considering new lodging taxes. How will this affect your trip?

By Marin Akasaka

Could it cost more to stay in Japan? It very likely will — and you can thank overtourism for that. The good news is that you likely won’t notice.

More municipalities across Japan plan to introduce lodging taxes on hotel and inn stays, a Kyodo News survey found. The poll, covering 1,723 municipalities nationwide, showed 92 in 32 prefectures are considering new levies. Another 42 have already introduced them or are scheduled to do so.

Local governments say they’ll use the revenue to promote tourism and curb overtourism driven by the rising number of inbound visitors. The tax applies to both Japanese and foreign guests. This has sparked calls for greater transparency and the development of tools to measure effectiveness.

The fiscal dilemma behind Japan’s push for lodging taxes