The Department of International Tourism was established in 2000 when Nagasaki International University was founded. Today, as an institution of higher education with tourism as its core education and research field, it has become a department featuring the nation’s largest scale and a varied curriculum. During these years, the situation surrounding tourism has changed significantly, and the number of foreign visitors to Japan, which was 4.76 million per year in 2000, rose to 31.88 million in 2019, more than four times as many as in 2000. As demonstrated by this figure, Japan’s active tourism-oriented country promotion policy has led Japan to a position where it can aim to become an advanced tourism country.
However, compared to Europe and the United States, the number of universities where tourism is offered as part of higher education is limited in Japan. The Department of International Tourism aims to develop people who can view tourism from a broad perspective and play an active role in this diverse and rapidly changing society. Fortunately, the area surrounding the university is rich in tourism resources, such as nature, history, culture, and food. Moreover, the university is located next to a resort comprising one of the leading theme parks in Japan and surrounding hotels, providing an ideal learning setting where students can put the theories that they have learned in the classroom into practice in the community.
Amid the acceleration of internal globalization brought about by the increase in the number of foreign visitors to Japan, the Department of International Tourism also focuses on the development of true cosmopolitan people. While tying up with many overseas universities to secure diverse study abroad destinations for Japanese students, the Department actively accepts international students from countries centering on Asia. Currently, international students account for about 20% of all students in the Department and a variety of exchange opportunities are provided within the Department to nurture an international perspective among all students.
It is said that more than 1.4 billion people currently travel across borders each year for sightseeing purposes. We are living in an amazing age where we can move or travel whenever and as much as we want and feel the joys of life through travel. On the other hand, tourism is sometimes impacted by natural disasters, infectious diseases, and regional conflicts. It is one of the important academic pursuits in tourism to consider ways that people can overcome those obstacles and aim to realize a safe, peaceful, and rich society.
In this blessed environment of Nagasaki International University and under the motto of “Always with humanity, always from the heart,” we look forward to meeting students who grow through the study of tourism.