Just like multiple choice questions in tests, stays in hotels are easy to measure. There’s money involved, and they are easily counted. That’s why the focus is on people numbers not economic impact. It’s so simple. But difficult. You have to convince people of going the hard yards. That’s one big theme in Japan, actually. Language education is exactly the same.
I understand the want to go for things that are easy to measure, but if they aren’t actually that useful, are they worth doing?