Tourism Business Education in Japanese Commercial High Schools

Case Study of Hamamatsu Commercial High School in Shizuoka

Abstract

From the academic year 2022, commercial high schools in Japan introduced the subject of “Tourism Business.” The background for the introduction of this subject lies in the need to foster tourism professionals based on the “Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Act” enacted in 2007. Additionally, the unprecedented inbound tourism boom from 2013 to 2019 resulted in a severe shortage of human resources in Japan’s tourism industry, further emphasising the necessity for developing skilled tourism professionals. While some commercial high schools at tourist destinations or resorts like Atami or Okinawa had already implemented tourism education, for many commercial high schools, this marks the first experience with such a subject. Traditional commercial subjects such as “Bookkeeping” and “Information Processing” are well-established with experienced teachers and accumulated educational know-how. However, with the newly introduced “Tourism Business” subject, many schools lack the accumulated knowledge and experience, leading to difficulties in fully realising the original purpose of introducing tourism education. In this article, the necessity and challenges of introducing the “Tourism Business” subject will be examined within the context of commercial education in high schools. The case of Hamamatsu Commercial High School will be examined as an example to explore the potential solutions to address the situation.