The Japan Foundation for International Tourism (President: Takeshi Sakimoto) and Skål International Tokyo (President: Hisamasa Takei) have agreed to work together to develop young student leaders for the future of the tourism industry.

Representatives of the two organizations signed the agreement on December 30 at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel.

Currently, students can study tourism at 240 universities and junior colleges and 132 vocational schools throughout Japan (source: 'Study Supplement', an information site for higher education). However, only a small percentage of these students go on to work in the tourism industry after graduation, and tourism-related businesses such as hotels, inns, travel agencies, and tourist facilities face a major management challenge in continuously securing human resources for the future. The travel and tourism industry has been severely affected by the spread of the COVID-19 infection, which has made students more cautious about seeking employment in the tourism industry. Deregulation and travel demand recovery measures implemented since this summer have brought back tourism, but many businesses are unable to operate at full capacity or are suffering a decline in service due to an inability to secure the necessary staff.

Members of the Japan Foundation for International Tourism (JAFIT) want to see more students who study tourism work in the tourism industry. Those expectations overlap with the needs of Skål International Tokyo members who want to see more young people who have studied tourism be more active in the tourism industry. By bringing together these two organizations representing academia and business, which have had limited interaction in the past, the organizations hope to provide more opportunities for students studying tourism to come into contact with the tourism industry so that they can better understand what the tourism industry does and become more interested in working in the industry.

The two organizations are considering the following collaborative activities:

• Dispatch Skål International Tokyo members as lecturers to universities and vocational schools where JAFIT members teach.

• Invite Skål International Tokyo members to serve as lecturers at JAFIT annual meetings, national conventions, study group meetings, etc.

• Encourage Skål International Tokyo members and the companies to which they belong to cooperate to the extent possible in educational and research activities in the field of tourism at universities and vocational schools where JAFIT members teach.

• Invite Skål International Tokyo members and companies affiliated with SKAL Tokyo members to cooperate and participate in student events organized by JAFIT (e.g. student tourism video contests).

• Encourage Skål International Tokyo members and member companies to accept students from universities and vocational schools where JAFIT members teach as visitors or interns, and provide them with opportunities to find employment in the tourism industry.

• Provide opportunities for students from universities and vocational schools where JAFIT members teach to participate in meetings and events held by Skål International Tokyo and promote direct interaction between students and Skål International Tokyo members.

• Encourage JAFIT members to provide opportunities for students of universities and vocational schools where JAFIT members teach to interact with students studying tourism in other universities and young professionals in the tourism industry through the activities of Young Skål, which Skål International Tokyo will support.