Archive for May 31st, 2011
Chinese language – Japan’s tourism recovery pins hope on China
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011Tourists from China stand outside a Laox Co shop in the Akihabara district of Tokyo.Chinese shoppers in Akihabara outspend all other overseas shoppers, according to thelocal tourism body, parting with more than four times more cash than their UScounterparts. The district’s stores are hiring Mandarin and Cantonese speakers andputting up two-meter tall billboards to bolster tourism. [Photo/Agencies] SHANGHAI - Japan, keen to rebuild its tourism industry, is expecting the number of Chinese visitorsto level off within six months after steep decreases since March, a senior official from Japan’stourism authorities said. The country’s national and local governments will pull together to dispel the gloom in its inboundtourism sectors, which is set to be responsible for 2.2 percent of Japan’s gross domestic productand 2.3 percent of employment this year. By making a strong presence at the Eighth World Travel Fair in Shanghai last week, tourismexecutives from nearly 20 Japanese organizations vowed to restore the confidence of the Chinesemarket, which comprises the second-largest tourist inbound source. As fears of a nuclear leak caused by the March 11earthquake and tsunami refused to disperse, many foreigngovernments urged their citizens to stay away from Japan,dealing a heavy blow to its thriving tourism industry. Katsuaki Suzuki, director of Japan National TourismOrganization’s (JNTO) Shanghai office, said the government,among other endeavors, prioritized updating the latestdetailed and accurate information about travel in Japan todismiss people’s concerns. “Most of Japan’s regions are unaffected by the disaster, andwe invite you to see the present condition of Japan by yourselves,” Suzuki said. Suzuki said the representative offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong serve to sendpromotional activities to leading travel agencies. Latest events have included a 20 percentaccommodation discount in Tokyo and discounted travel passports tailor-made for foreign visitors,according to JNTO’s website. Receiving 1.41 million Chinese visitors last year, Japan has set an ambitious target of regaining itspopularity by the outset of next year, Suzuki added. A mere 352,800 foreigners arrived in Japan in March, 50.3 percent fewer than the same month in2010 and the largest decline ever recorded, according to the Japan National Tourism Board. The catastrophic nuclear leak at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant has left northeast Japan thehardest hit area. Shuhei Sakamoto, director of the region’s tourism promotion organization, said itwould invite Chinese media and tourism professionals to visit Japan from September. “We wish you to observe first-hand how Japan is still a unique and attractive travel destination and,by word of mouth, pass this information to the public,” Sakamoto said. Southwest island Kyushu, while less exposed to the nuclear radiation, still saw a precipitous drop inthe number of visitors. To reinvigorate the local economy, governors of the seven prefectures on Kyushu island will visitChina’s National Tourism Administration in Beijing and Shanghai Municipal Tourism Bureaus, saidYang Lin, assistant manager of the overseas division of the Kyushu tourism promotion organization. Ishihara Susumi, its tourism chief, has made reassurances about safety in an open letter tooverseas tourists and invited people to enjoy the cherry blossom season. “We continue to welcome visitors from all over the world with an unchanging spirit of hospitality,” theletter read. The UN World Tourism Organization has downplayed fears about traveling to and from Japan asradiation levels at the country’s airports and ports are ”well within safe limits”. However, Fumihiko Sugino, director of Japan-headquartered Meitetsu World Travel Inc in Shanghai,said his company witnessed a downward spiral in business as travelers canceled bookings rightafter the incident. “All reservations for hotels and shuttle buses are called off, and not a single deal was made inMarch (after the quake),” Sugino’s assistant told China Daily. Despite the sizable hit, Sugino remained optimistic for recovery as the first group of 40 Chinesepassengers landed in Japan on April 29. Suzuki also forecast a rosy prospect for a quick rebound. “Very much like the 2003 SARS pandemic that panicked international travelers to China, therebound showed blowout growth. We hope it is the same case with Japan this time,” Suzuki said. Learn Chinese, Learn mandarin, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About Chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in [...]