Kyoto asks foreign tourists to make donations to preserve the city

The town hall is in debt, tourism has caused real estate prices to jump, so to maintain its approximately 3,000 cultural sites, it is appealing to the generosity of tourists.

In Japan, too, there is also concern about the state of public finances. Particularly in local communities. Everywhere, authorities are seeking to invent new taxes. In Kyoto, the town hall is now offering foreign tourists the opportunity to make donations to save the city and its heritage. If you are generous, you will get a small gift.

Kyoto is the must-visit city when you visit Japan. It is a modern city with 1.5 million inhabitants. But it is also an exceptional historical destination, with traditional houses, pagodas, old sanctuaries and Zen gardens. The town hall itself says that it is home to 3,000 cultural sites. Tourists arrive by the millions every month. But this is not enough to balance the city’s finances. The town hall still has to repay a debt that dates back to the 90s and the construction of a metro which never brought in what was expected.

The city is also penalized by the influx of tourists which has caused real estate prices to jump. Lots of big hotels have come to set up shop, but families and small businesses have had to leave, because they can no longer cope with the soaring price per m2. Automatically, fewer workers, fewer companies, means less taxes for the city. The mayor himself also sounded the alarm by explaining that his city was now at risk of going bankrupt.

At the end of September, the town hall has just launched its “donate and go” project. It is an internet platform in English where visitors are invited to make a donation to the city. The site explains that the town hall has to spend a lot to maintain its gardens, its streets or the roofs of its traditional houses. The town hall also explains that it has banned tall buildings or large advertising panels to preserve the harmony of Kyoto and provide a perfect setting for foreign tourists.

En exchange, the town hall is hoping for a little helping hand. On the website, you can pay between 1,000 and one million yen with your credit card, or between 6 and 6,000 euros. The town hall recovers half of this amount and offers you in exchange an electronic coupon, also equivalent to half of your donation, which you spend in a store in the city. It could be in a restaurant, a kimono rental shop or a souvenir store.

The donation platform has just opened, it is still too early to know if tourists will be generous, mBut several other tourist cities in the country have already announced that they will also appeal, in the same way, to the generosity of foreign tourists.