Kahini Chakraborty – Mumbai
Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) and its convention division, the Japan Convention Bureau (JCB) have launched a website for international MICE planners. Presently, majority of the Indian visitors who visit Japan are business travellers. JNTO is focusing on increasing their leisure market share from key metro cities in India apart from New Delhi and Mumbai.
Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Hideki Manabe, executive director, JNTO, Singapore said, “The website is a handy tool for those planning conferences, corporate meetings and incentive trips. The website provides information on what Japan can offer for international events; testimonials and case studies; a list of unique venues and activities that are only available in Japan; a useful search function that allows event planners to find cities and venues that best suit their events’ needs and much more.”
In the year 2013, Japan received 75,100 Indian tourist arrivals registering a growth rate of nine per cent as against 68,914 in 2012. “Seeing the statistics, we are expecting a huge increase in Indian tourist arrivals to Japan. Visitors are attracted to Japan’s natural scenery, historical and cultural sites, and urban sightseeing. Most of the destinations in Indian travellers’ agenda are included in Japan’s popular Golden Route. While Tokyo is still the most popular, the Kanazawa area is also gaining importance as a tourist destination with an increase in visitors to Kyoto, Takayama, Yokohama, Osaka and Hakone,” he informed.
The tourism board is continuously working towards increasing its leisure market share along with business travellers from India. Elaborating on its tourism products for the leisure segment, he added, “We are keen to promote local Japanese cuisine as Indians are getting more adventurous to try new cuisines, shopping spots like Ginza is a desirable shopping destination with high end stores, boutiques and cafes, cityscapes such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Hokkaido, and Osaka are well connected through the most popular transportation system, the Shinkansen Bullet Train. Also the strong cultural and historical influence, carried forward for generations such as festivals, and the concept of tea ceremony, onsen and ryokan.” JNTO is also keen on attracting the Bollywood segment.
