nese mean that many of the attractions at Tokyo's Disney resort are lost, without translation, for non-Japanese speakers. "The problem is the language," said Chanida Towithelertkul, a Thai tourist who said her Chinese, English and Thai-speaking tour group was frustrated by the language barrier at the resort.
As it marks its 25th anniversary on Tuesday and looks toward the next quarter century, attracting new markets such as foreign tourists, seniors and men may be crucial for the Disney resort in a country with the world's fastest aging population. By 2055, 40 percent of Japan's population will be aged over 65.
"There is no way that the decrease of the population parameter is going to be a positive factor," said Naoshi Nema, an analyst at Morgan Stanley in Tokyo.
The first Walt Disney theme park to open outside of the United States, Tokyo Disney Resort includes Disneyland and DisneySea, a water theme park, two hotels and a shopping mall. The parks, which generated US$3.2 billion last year, have about 25.8 million annual visitors, over 96 percent of them from Japan. About 84 percent of visitors are aged 39 and under.
Unless the resort can persuade regulars to visit more often or win over a new customer base, the number of guests is bound to dwindle as Japan's population declines, Nema said.
Attracting tourists from abroad would be a sharp shift for a theme park that is so focused on the domestic market that it sometimes fails to address the needs of foreigners.
Signs are in English and Japanese and maps are available in English, Chinese and Korean but that's about where it stops.
During a visit to the park on a busy spring afternoon, foreign tourists complained that the park was not user friendly as they stood in two hour queues for the rollercoaster and other rides and 30 minute queues for food.
Few seemed to know about a "fastpass" service to book rides in advance which is popular with locals.
Oriental Land Co Ltd, the Japanese company that owns and operates the resort under a license from the Walt Disney Co, says it wants to tap the potential abroad.
"This is still a small part of the total number of visitors, but I think it is an area that we can definitely grow in," Yoshiro Fukushima, president of Oriental Land Co Ltd, told Reuters in a recent interview.
