The trilateral meeting in Kobe, Japan, marked the first such gathering since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials agreed to expand flight connections to regional airports and address overtourism concerns while promoting accessible travel for families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities.
The ministers said in a joint statement to aim to revitalize their regional economies. They also outlined plans to restore visitor numbers to the pre-pandemic level of 30 million by 2025.
Japan, which seeks to attract 60 million foreign visitors annually by 2030 as part of its economic growth strategy, has seen an uptick in Korean and Chinese tourists, partly due to a weaker yen. However, Japanese outbound travel to these neighboring countries has yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, according to government data.
