Study on programmes utilising the sea in coastal areas of the Kanto region

Amidst the ongoing diversification of tourism facilities in recent years in Japan, there has been growing interest in experience-oriented tourism. In response, central and local governments and the tourism industry have made various proposals to vitalise local areas through tourism. Based on the understanding that blue tourism and other programmes utilising the sea will play a significant role in the vitalisation of local areas, the Study aims at obtaining basic knowledge on such programmes by analysing the current reality and contents of tourism promotion programmes utilising the sea. The method used was a questionnaire survey with the cooperation of the government, tourism association and fishermen's cooperatives in Kanagawa, Chiba and Ibaraki Prefectures. It was found that there is a large discrepancy between programmes using the sea in terms of the number of participants which is assumed to be affected by the population in the hinterland. The scale of participation is also likely to be affected by the contents and seasonal character of each programme and the size of the operating body. The establishment of a steering committee which involves the administration and private sector organizations, including the tourism association and fishermen's cooperatives, etc., appears to be essential for the promotion of sea tourism programmes.