MARINE RECREATION IN OKINAWA: THE PRESENT STATES AND FUTUR PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Okinawa is one of the best places for marine recreational activities in Japan, such as sport and deep-sea fishing, sport diving, surfing, yachting, and so forth. These activities attract millions of visitors each year and obviously enhance tourism industries in Okinawa. The aims of this paper are to present various activities and constraints related to marine recreation taking place in Okinawa. Several recommendations for improving marine recreational activities are made: creating public facilities to provide information on, marine recreation, educational classes and marine shops and formulating the license system of marine-related activities.