Tourism agency maps out action plan to lure more foreign tourists+

TOKYO, Jan. 28 Kyodo - The Japan Tourism Agency said Wednesday it will promote Japan's spa resorts in South Korea, especially targeting single South Korean women in their 30s, as part of its action plan to increase the number of tourists from abroad.

For Chinese and Taiwanese tourists who tend to go on shopping sprees in Japan,
the agency will advertise seasonal bargain sales.
The agency has worked out the plan through fiscal 2010 as the number of foreign
tourists to Japan is decreasing in the face of the global recession and the
yen's steep appreciation. In December, the number of tourists from abroad
plunged 24 percent from a year earlier, according to the Japan National Tourism
Organization.
As tourists from India, Russia and Malaysia are expected to increase, the
agency will advertise more in these countries.
The plan also calls for conducting surveys in Vietnam and Middle Eastern
countries to gauge local demand for tours to Japan.
The Japanese government plans to increase the number of tourists from abroad to
10 million a year by 2010.
The number reached an all-time high of 8.35 million in 2008 thanks to an
increase in the first half of the year, according to JNTO.
==Kyodo
2009-