UK tourists warned 'another' country is set to impose higher tax on them

Another beautiful country struggling with mass tourism is debating higher tax for visitors. UK tourists heading out of the European Union and towards the Far East, like Japan, have been warned over overtourism around Mount Fuji, with action being conemplated.

The local government near the Japan capital are debating a tourist tax. The Shizuoka Prefectural Government is considering charging climbers JPY 3,000 (£15.70) to JPY 5,000 (£26.20) per head starting next summer, it has emerged.

The fee is aimed at curbing overcrowding and promoting safety. During the climbing season from July to September, the trails are often packed with thousands of hikers. This year between early July and early September, around 204,000 people climbed Mt Fuji, and while this marked an 8% drop from the previous year, congestion remains a critical issue.

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Yamanashi Prefecture, which shares Mount Fuji with Shizuoka, introduced a daily limit of 4,000 climbers and a fee of JPY 2,000 ($12) per climber earlier this year, significantly reducing nighttime congestion on its trails. However, Shizuoka did not implement entry regulations and only installed a voluntary registration system.

Shizuoka’s proposed entry fee would replace the current JPY 1,000 ($6) “voluntary conservation fee.” “I feel that unspoken rules are sinking in among foreign tourists because there has been an improvement in the littering situation and they have been abiding by the lines formed to take photos,” Mayor Hideyuki Watanabe told a news conference.

Watanabe said at the news conference that his town welcomed tourists. “We should not be transmitting a negative image by blocking (the view with the sheet),” he said. “I want foreign tourists to take pretty pictures of Mount Fuji.”

Officials have also noted an increase in visitors trying to capture snow-capped Mount Fuji. The town government has installed an 80-centimeter-high metal railing extending for six meters between the sidewalk in front of the convenience store and the prefectural road.