Japan to target Middle East Travellers with ATM debut

Japan is to enter the fray for high spending Middle East tourists with its first ever pavilion at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.

Being organised by The Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME) the pavilion is being designed to give visitors a taste of Japanese culture, society, arts and history and reverse ingrained perceptions that the country is only a business destination.

“While a significant number of Middle East travellers regularly visit South-East Asian destinations, very few think of Japan as a holiday destination. We intend to get a share of this South-East bound traffic through stop-overs in Japan,” said Kenichi Sawaguchi, Senior Director, Planning & Project, JCCME.

“The Arabian Travel Market which attracts industry professionals from all over the Middle East and North Africa, is an ideal platform from which to build publicity for Japan’s inbound tourism,” he added.

Japan’s entry into the Arabian Travel Market, which this year will run at the Dubai World Trade Centre from May 2-5, comes as the region’s airlines beef up their services to the country. The region is currently linked to Japan via Emirates, Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways. In addition, Emirates is planning to launch non-stop services to Nagoya, Japan’s fourth largest city this June with four weekly flights to complement its existing daily service to Osaka, the gateway to Western Japan.

“It is easier to reach Japan from the Gulf and we are confident that once GCC visitors have experienced the warmth and hospitality of Japan the traffic will build through word-of-mouth reports,” said Sawaguchi. “We are creating many opportunities for tour operators and travel agents to visit Japan.”

At the Arabian Travel Market 2006 – the 13th in the annual series – the JCCME will position Japan primarily as a family destination.

“There are attractions for people of all ages with an abundance of natural wonders and a unique cultural heritage,” explained Sawaguchi. “There are hundreds of tourist spots in Japan from quiet national parks to centuries old temples and shrines to high technology shopping areas.

“Potential visitors tend to think only Honshu but Japan has three other major islands – Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu which also boast traditional arts, distinctive regional architecture and areas of outstanding natural beauty. Sadly much of our rich cultural and historical heritage is relatively unknown to the Middle East traveller which is why we are targeting the GCC region.”

Japan is one of among 34 national or official tourism bodies due at the Arabian Travel Market 2006, which is organised by Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE).

“The geographic exhibitor footprint of the show is continually expanding due to the increasing value of the Middle East outbound market and the reputation of Gulf tourists in particularly as high spenders,” said Chris Chackal, Group Exhibition Director – Overseas Events, RTE.

“Expanding air links between the Middle East and other regions are also ‘drivers’ in the outbound tourism equation and Arabian Travel Market, with its brand power and reputation as a business-to-business results oriented event is growing in tandem with these developments.”

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