UNESCO boosts tourism at ancient shrines

BY JULIAN RICHARDSON in Hiraizumi, Japan richardsonj@jamaicaobserver.com

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

JUST how much is a World Heritage Site registration worth? For one Japanese rural region hard hit by last year's earthquake and tsunami, the answer is hundreds of thousands of tourists and hundreds of new jobs.

A little more than three months after the March 11 catastrophe, Hiraizumi was suffering from a sharp falloff in tourist arrivals when it was awarded a lifeline by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Since the registration of the Cultural Heritage of Hiraizumi as a World Heritage Site on June 29, the town has seen an amazing revival in visitors, said Iwate Prefecture official Kenji Sugawara, speaking to Latin American and Caribbean journalists at the Hiraizumi Cultural Heritage Centre on Sunday.

"That decision, to register Hiraizumi, has had a very positive impact," said Sugawara. "Many tourists started to come back after the decision."

During the reign of the Fujiwaras (AD866-1184), Hiraizumi was said to rival Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, in grandeur and sophistication.

Boasting a population of just over 8,000, and some 450 kilometres north of Tokyo, Hiraizumi is a small, remote community with a big history. It is home to Japanese national treasures, Buddhist temples and gardens built during the 12th century to depict the ideology of peace and co-existence. Major historical sites include the Chuson-ji, Motsu-ji and Muryo-koin temples.

Chuson-ji is a wooden structure coated with mother of pearl and a classical pagoda-style roof with upturned eaves. It houses three golden statues to which visitors pray.

Tourism breathes life into the Iwate Prefecture town, which typically attracts 1.5 to 2.2 million visitors annually. But the livelihood of residents was dramatically hit by the Great East Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami. The March 11 disaster did little damage to the town's infrastructure, situated as it is 40 kilometres inland, but put a big dent into the economy.

"This affected tourist arrivals in a big manner," said Sugawara. "There were hardly any tourists in Hiraizumi."

Visitors during the Golden Week holiday (April 29 to May 5), one of the busiest periods for Hiraizumi, were said to have declined by more than 80 per cent after the disaster. A traditional parade centred on 12th-century warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune, which usually attracts more than 200,000 tourists, was reportedly cancelled. Sugawara reasoned that most persons were exercising self-restraint after the catastrophe, fuelled by the negativity surrounding the damage to the Fukushima nuclear plant and fears of possible radiation.

The Fukushima plant is more than 200 kilometres south of Hiraizumi. "We would like to emphasise that it is safe to visit this area," said Sugawara, arguing that any claim of the opposite is baseless.

But the decision by the World Heritage Committee in June gave Sugawara and Hiraizumi tourism officials a huge boost in their fight to win back visitors.

"UNESCO decided to register Hiraizumi due to history," proclaimed Takao Chiba, a town official in a briefing with the journalists, invited by the Japanese government to observe the country's recovery from the earthquake and tsunami.

"One of the factors is UNESCO's philosophy for peace," Sugawara said. "We believe that is a major reason why we were chosen."

Despite suffering a poor second quarter in 2011, Hiraizumi ended the year with a 1.5 per cent increase in visitor arrivals over 2010. The momentum has continued into 2012, says Sugawara, who believes there was a 50 per cent increase in visitors to Hiraizumi in January compared to the corresponding period last year.

Japan is using the World Heritage award as a promotional tool to further boost tourism in the region, especially to attract a more diversified pool of tourists. Currently, visitors to Hiraizumi are mostly Japanese, with residents of Taiwan and Korea representing the bulk of foreign tourists.

Efforts include restructuring the web page of the Hiraizumi tourism association; holding press tours (like this one) to the Tohuku region; and accepting training programmes for International Cooperation Agency.

"We are very much interested in welcoming a bigger number of visitors from abroad," said Sugawara.

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UNESCO boosts tourism at ancient shrines