by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 10:50 AM ET, Mon January 13, 2025
Portland-based tour operator Avanti Destinations and the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) have partnered to create a new campaign encouraging travel advisors to sell FIT itineraries to less-visited destinations across Japan to help combat overtourism, called “Beyond the Golden Route.”
The new partnership is increasingly important this year, as Japan saw record-high numbers of foreign tourists in 2024 and is expected to host the World Expo in Osaka from April through October.
Avanti offers 17 destinations to visit across Japan beyond Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, with over 80 tours and experiences and 13 vacation packages. Beyond the Golden Route offers a selection of helpful tools for travel advisors, including a 50-page e-brochure for advisors to learn about Japan’s incredible offerings, a new microsite and a pre-recorded webinar.
In the past year, Avanti has added two new destinations in Japan: Nagano and Suruga.
The five-day customizable itinerary to Nagano includes a private tour of the snow monkey park, a private soba-making class, a roundtrip ticket on a high-speed train, private tour of Nagano, a visit to Togakushi shrine, daily breakfast and choice of accommodations.
The customizable tours allow advisors to easily combine experiences like visiting a wasabi farm in Matsumoto, near the Japanese Alps; a private war heritage tour in Okinawa; or a visit to the Ghibli Park and Museum of Flight tour in Nagoya.
“Even in the high seasons of sakura in the spring when the cherry trees are in full bloom or in the fall when trees change to vivid colors, we can help advisors find places with a fraction of the tourists in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, places where your clients can encounter Japanese culture in many different ways,” said Paul Barry, CEO of Avanti.
“Some of these include: a private tour of the snow monkey park, hot spring (onsen)-hopping in Kinosaki, hiking the shrine-dotted Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route, learning to make soba noodles, trying your hand at traditional crafts in Kanazawa, or a private cycling tour outside Matsumoto that stops at a wasabi farm. Even in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka our knowledgeable travel consultants can suggest places and experiences that most travelers miss,” continued Barry.
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