• Various restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which lasted for about three years, have been eased at long last, and tourists from around the world, as well as domestic travel, are once again on the rise. Tourism is considered a pillar of Japan’s growth strategy and the cornerstone of regional development going forward, and further growth is counted on as Japan strives to become a nation advanced in tourism. At Ritsumeikan Academy, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) opened the College of Sustainability and Tourism in 2023, and Ritsumeikan University launched a Business Administration in Tourism Management major at the Graduate School of Management (Ritsumeikan University Business School) in April 2024, focusing its efforts on nurturing human resources who will lead the next generation of tourism. In this issue, we feature researchers who are playing a role in the promotion of tourism through their research, as well as those who are studying the aspects in which tourism is transforming society and culture.