Inside Travel hails impact of ‘undertourism’ initiative

The parent company of InsideJapan and InsideAsia set up the strategy last year to focus on five lesser-known Japanese regions.

A target to double the number of room nights booked across Yamaguchi, Nagasaki (pictured), Toyama, Nagoya and Aomori to 1,000 was exceeded with one-in-ten trips featuring one of the five regions, with Toyama proving particularly successful. 

More than £267,000 of visitor spending was generated in these local regions as a result.

The company said as it published its latest impact report: “InsideJapan’s undertourism strategy has demonstrated that tour operators can have a role to play in dispersing visitors away from overtouristed hotspots towards communities that have both the capacity and desire to welcome international visitors.” 

Head of impact Rob Moran said. “We wanted to demonstrate that undertourism could be more than an idea – that a tour operator could actively influence where people travel and, in doing so, help destinations battle urban migration and preserve culture while improving the experience for travellers.

“After the success of 2025, we wanted to build on momentum and grow positive impact and so more than doubled targets for 2026 to 2,500 room nights across our five regions. Our latest figures for August show that we have hit 73% of the target with one-in-five trips now including these incredible destinations.”

The operator continues to explore how the principles behind the strategy could be applied across its InsideAsia destinations, including South Korea, India, Vietnam and Thailand.

The company believes that it has a responsibility within the travel industry to inspire others to do what they can within their destinations, together with local communities to determine where tourism can create the greatest positive Impact.

Co-Founder Simon King added: “When InsideJapan began 25 years ago, Japan was a very different tourism destination. 

“Today, the challenge is not encouraging people to discover Japan – it is helping ensure that the benefits of that growth are shared more widely and that the experience of Japan continues to be special.

“Our undertourism strategy is about using our influence as a tour operator. By encouraging travellers to trust us and look beyond the obvious places, we are providing a better cultural experience while supporting communities that genuinely want and need tourism.

“Our latest impact report shows that responsible business is not something separate from what we do. It is increasingly becoming fundamental to how we design our trips, work with our partners and think about the future of travel.”