Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) recorded 103,200 Indian arrivals in 2015, marking a growth of 17.3 per cent over 2014. JNTO recently conducted its Visit Japan Trade Seminar in Mumbai. Another important development came from All Nippon Airways (ANA), which has been operating a business jet, with daily non stop direct flights from Mumbai to Tokyo (Narita) since September 2007. ANA has launched its B787 Dreamliner aircraft with daily non stop direct flights on Mumbai-Narita route, with 46 fully flat (staggered) seats in business, 21 in premium economy and 102 in economy, which is expected to increase travel activities between India and Japan. The operations will commence on March 27, 2016. The seminar was attended by Hideki Manabe, executive director, JNTO Singapore Office; Daisuke Kobayashi, director, JNTO Singapore Office; Takeshi Komura, senior assistant manager, JNTO Tokyo Office; and Yoshiaki Ito, consul general, Consulate General of Japan, Mumbai. The travel trade partners at the event included ANA, DMC Japan by KNT, Oicee Japan, Ayabex, Wakayama Prefecture and Princess Cruises.
Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Manabe commented, “2015 was good for us, as Japan received more than 100,000 Indian visitors. Business travel is doing good, but we have observed that leisure travellers form a bigger share. Japan’s popularity as a travel destination among Indians is increasing, resulting in increased tourism flow from India to Japan. India market is one of the important target markets for us, among 20 other countries. India currently ranks 16th, but I can see India among the top markets for Japan in the future.”
