Japan Travel Bureau Foundation

The Japan Travel Bureau Foundation (Japanese: 公益財団法人日本交通公社, abbreviated JTBF) is a Japanese public-interest incorporated foundation and one of the country's few think tanks specializing in travel and tourism. According to its own organizational profile, it was born in 1912 as the Japan Tourist Bureau (ジャパン・ツーリスト・ビューロー), an organization created to attract foreign visitors to Japan. In 1963 its commercial operations were separated into what is today JTB Corporation, after which the foundation refocused on research and surveys. It transitioned to public-interest incorporated foundation status in 2012 and in 2016 was designated as an academic research institution by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The foundation describes itself as a "practical academic research institution" specializing in tourism, aiming through academic research and practice at "the realization of a prosperous society through tourism." Its work is organized around two main pillars: self-initiated (自主事業) research and commissioned (受託事業) projects. It conducts commissioned work for national and local governments and public bodies, functioning as a think tank and consultant that supports tourism promotion policy across Japan. Its research fields span tourist trends (domestic Japanese travel, outbound Japanese travel, and inbound travel), statistics development, tourism policy and destination management, tourism resources evaluation and conservation, tourism economics and economic impact, universal tourism, disaster recovery, community and resident issues, and technology. Among its best-known recurring outputs are the JTBF traveler surveys, which began in 1998 as the "JTBF Traveler Trend Survey" and today continue as the "JTBF Travel Awareness Survey" and "JTBF Travel Behavior Survey." It also jointly publishes the "DBJ・JTBF Survey of Intentions of Visitors to Japan from Asia, Europe, the US and Australia" with the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ). Other publications include the annual Travel Yearbook (旅行年報), the Beautiful Japan national tourism resource inventory (美しき日本 全国観光資源台帳), and a tourism funding guidebook. The foundation runs seminars and symposiums, including the annual Travel Trend Symposium (旅行動向シンポジウム) and destination-management knowledge forums. It also operates the "Travel Library" (旅の図書館), a specialized library on travel and tourism with a collection of more than 60,000–70,000 volumes, located in its headquarters building in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo. The foundation maintains additional offices in Kyoto (JTBF Kyoto Tourism Resilience Research Center) and Okinawa (Okinawa Sustainable Lab). It is a separate legal entity from JTB Corporation, the travel agency; the foundation's FAQ explicitly directs travel arrangements and JTB gift certificates to JTB Corporation. As a public-interest foundation, it also runs a supporting-membership (賛助会員) program and publishes information disclosure materials.

The organization's roots lie in the Japan Tourist Bureau (ジャパン・ツーリスト・ビューロー), established in 1912 (Meiji 45) with the aim of attracting foreign visitors to Japan. According to the foundation's organizational profile, this predecessor body was the origin of today's JTBF. In 1963 the commercial operations of the organization were separated off into what became JTB Corporation (株式会社JTB), and the remaining entity specialized in research and surveys. From that point the foundation developed as a tourism research body. Its self-initiated research on tourism resources dates back at least to 1968, when it conducted the "Survey Methods for Tourism Resources" (観光資源調査の手法) study; this was followed by commissioned work from the former Ministry of Construction's Road Bureau on tourism transport and tourism behavior surveys. Over the following decades it built up a body of commissioned research for national and local government and public bodies, and in 1998 it launched the JTBF Traveler Trend Survey to capture the overall picture and actual conditions of the travel market. In 2012 the organization transitioned to public-interest incorporated foundation (公益財団法人) status, and in 2016 it received designation as an academic research institution from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It continues to operate as a think tank and consultant specializing in tourism, with self-initiated research at the core of its activities, alongside seminars, symposiums, publications, and the Travel Library. Its management plan is titled "BEYOND 2030." The foundation maintains its headquarters in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo, and additional offices in Kyoto (JTBF Kyoto Tourism Resilience Research Center) and Okinawa (Okinawa Sustainable Lab).

• 2016

  Designated as an academic research institution by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).

• 2012

  Transitioned to public-interest incorporated foundation (公益財団法人) status.

• 1998

  Launched the JTBF Traveler Trend Survey, later continued as the JTBF Travel Awareness Survey and JTBF Travel Behavior Survey.

• 1968

  Conducted the self-initiated study "Survey Methods for Tourism Resources," followed by commissioned tourism transport and behavior surveys from the former Ministry of Construction's Road Bureau.

• 1963

  Commercial operations separated into what is now JTB Corporation; the remaining organization specialized in research and surveys.

• 1912

  Japan Tourist Bureau (ジャパン・ツーリスト・ビューロー) founded with the aim of attracting foreign visitors to Japan.

A public-interest foundation and practical academic research institution specializing in tourism, serving as a think tank and consultant for national and local tourism policy.

• JTBF Traveler Trend Survey (1998–), continued as JTBF Travel Awareness Survey and JTBF Travel Behavior Survey

• DBJ・JTBF Survey of Intentions of Visitors to Japan from Asia, Europe, the US and Australia (joint with Development Bank of Japan)

• Travel Yearbook (旅行年報)

• Beautiful Japan national tourism resource inventory (美しき日本 全国観光資源台帳)

• Tourism Funding Guidebook (観光財源ガイドブック)

• Travel Library (旅の図書館), a specialized travel and tourism library with over 60,000–70,000 volumes

• Traveler survey visualization tool for municipalities, DMOs and students

1. 1公益財団法人日本交通公社 (official website)jtb.or.jp
2. 2組織概要 | (公財)日本交通公社jtb.or.jp
3. 3アクセス | (公財)日本交通公社jtb.or.jp
4. 4よくある質問 | (公財)日本交通公社jtb.or.jp
5. 5Japan Travel Bureau Foundation — Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6日本交通公社 — 维基百科zh.wikipedia.org