Russia’s St. Petersburg to open tourism promotion office on Japan’s Hokkaido Island

The authorities of Russia’s St. Petersburg plan to open a tourism promotion office on Japan’s Hokkaido Island, St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko said at a joint press conference with Hokkaido Governor Harumi Takahashi in Sapporo on Thursday.

"The main goal is to promote our tourism product, this is why we would like to open a Visit Petersburg office on Hokkaido," he said. "I am sure that it will help attract tourists from the city of Sapporo and the entire Hokkaido region," Poltavchenko added.

According to him, the two regions have significant potential to boost the tourism industry and tourism-related business. "In the future we may start cooperating in developing tourism infrastructure, provided businessmen show interest in that," Poltavchenko noted.

On Thursday, the governors of St. Petersburg and Hokkaido agreed on a new road map for regional cooperation, which concerns cooperation in a number of fields, including healthcare and waste management.

The Russian delegation, led by the St. Petersburg governor, consists of 45 members, including officials, businessmen, representatives of healthcare, educational and cultural facilities. Delegation members are expected to visit a rehabilitation center for children and Sapporo Medical University, have a look at the local treatment facilities and hold consultations with representatives of Japan’s motor industry.

In 2017, a total of 77,200 Russian tourists visited Japan, which is 40.8% more compared to 2016. The two countries’ decision to ease visa restrictions is believed to be the reason behind the growing Russian tourist inflow to Japan.