A Less Connected World May Boost the Business of "Being Here But Also Somewhere Else"

The French-style village on the southern shores of Chiba prefecture tried its best to look out of place. Even though traditional Japanese wooden houses are visible from its backyard, its colorful houses, uniformed staff, as well as pools and baths interspersed with European decor attract plenty of Instagrammers seeking to create a sense of a Frech holiday just a few hours drive outside Tokyo. The fact that the little French-style resort established in 1980 is booked full on the weekends despite lack of public transportation show that the average Japanese citizen's desire to go abroad remains strong.

Once in a while, people with the means enjoy doing something that differs from their own culture and daily experiences, but on their own terms. There are plenty of restaurants serving food from all corners of the Earth, even though the majority of their patrons have never lived outside their own country of birth, and have little knowledge about the cultures that produced those foreign foods. But the restaurants remain popular because they can provide a sense of exoticism in a setting that remains familiar and safe from too many unknowns.

That desire for the occasional exoticism goes beyond meals. Many hotels and theme parks play up their foreignness, present in their architectural styles, the visual use of foreign cultural elements from the language, the landscaping, the uniforms of the staff members, and of course, food. The idea is to temporarily transport customers to a sanitized version of a foreign land, without the language barrier, the awkwardness of not really understanding local customs, and when needed, friendly guides who can help navigate the exotic landscape. interpreted in ways that one can understand.

Nowhere is this idea of "familiar exoticism" more prevalent than in Japan. From German-like beers and sausages of many Oktoberfest celebrations to the Dutch-like theme park of Huis Ten Bosch, to the colorful yet sanitized Chinatowns, the country boasts many types of entertaining establishments that allow locals to explore some version of foreign lands without ever stepping outside the national border and their own cultural comfort zones. Combine these physical locales with media coverage of foreigners in Japan, and the average Japanese person can form their views and beliefs about any foreign land.

With COVID-19 shutting down international flight routes and the ongoing depreciation of the yen against the dollar making international travel all but impossible for the moneyed few, such domesticized foreign experiences have even more important and craved by many. Voluntary self-quarantine at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an attitude of "anywhere but here," driving a surge in travel when the country's soft lockdown all but ended. Like it has been for people elsewhere, pent-up desire for travel foregone during COVID-19 has led to renewed interest in exotic lands.

Yet, it will be some time before the world is truly ready again for unfettered international travel. The continued hesitance of government authorities to allow in foreigners is resulting in the slow removal of quarantine, vaccination, and PCR testing requirements. Airlines are sitting on the fence about restoring many flights that were cut due to the pandemic, and has become all but impossible to run in the aftermath of sanctions against Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. The extra expenses and time needed for international travel will continue to deter a vast number of potential travelers.

Those exotic lands within one's home country, then, offers an imperfect, but given the context, suitable enough alternative for those craving their foreign travels. A bit of an investment in visualizing foreign lands, especially in remote areas where there are few other physical structures and neighbors to remind visitors of their own country and its everyday life, can go a long way in fulfilling demand for the average citizens' renewed interest in getting in touch with the world again, but at a more modest price tag and greater convenience of being closer to home.

So should investors go all in on creating destinations that considered exotic in countries where they are located? At least for Japan, the answer might be a resounding yes. As the yen continues plunging, people will not be able to afford foreign holidays even if all COVID-related restrictions are dropped tomorrow and international flights are restored. But for other countries, the answer is not yet certain. Countries dependent on international tourism as major income earners will bend over backwards to ensure foreign tourists come back, and the lure of a "real" foreign holidays might be just too strong.