TokyoTomo Travel Guide

Destination Quebec hosted a reception for the Japanese media on March 3 jointly with Air Canada (AC). The venue was the “Theatre Tokyo” of CIRQUE DU SOLEIL which has its base in Montreal, Quebec. The “ZED,” a program exclusively prepared for the Japanese market, was introduced to the invited guests. Seichi Iwabuchi, Regional Director at Destination Quebec, opened the reception, citing that he would like every guest to experience the flavor of Quebec first-hand through the performance by CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, followed by local cuisine from Quebec, adding that the media event will further help improve the recognition of Quebec in the Japanese travel market.

In a drive to enhance its market recognition, Destination Quebec has meanwhile established the “Quebec Media Club,” in fact, members of which were invited to the reception. Commenting on a significance of the PR activities, Iwabuchi said that he is hopeful that the PR activities will achieve tangible results in motivating prospective travelers to make inquiries with travel agencies and thus encouraging them to start to produce the package tours.

Kiyo Weiss, Sales and Marketing Manager Japan, Air Canada, told the guests, while giving a toast, that the airline will start a new service to Calgary from March 28 in addition to the current non-stop flights to Vancouver and Toronto, adding that the new service to Calgary will further enhance its accessibility to Canada. She also told the travel agencies that the number of tourists to Quebec peaks undoubtedly in its autumn season. The new thrice-weekly service to Quebec, which is scheduled to be operated from March 28 through to October 29, should accommodate the peak traffic during the autumn season, she said, expecting that it will help encourage the travel agencies to produce package tours featuring the summer and the autumn season in Quebec.

Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) organized a Hong Kong MICE travel mission in Tokyo and Osaka on the occasion of the first anniversary of establishing its MEHK (Meeting & Event Hong Kong) specialized in MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Congress and Event). On February 26, the seminar and workshop were held in Tokyo. 27 tourism delegations including convention facilities, hotels and local tour operators from Hong Kong participated in the event and elaborated on the respective sales points. Albert Tang, Representative, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Tokyo), mentioned during the welcome address that a construction of high-speed railways started in January this year, expressing his high expectation that the high-speed railway services should help make new travel plans featuring the respective counties in China as well as Hong Kong.

During the seminar, Go Furuya, Senior Marketing Executive East Japan, HKTB made presentations, revealing that a variety of “food” in Hong Kong is absolutely a top feature item and gets increased attention especially after the “Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau” was issued last year. Also, Hong Kong will see in the latter part of this year a completion of the International Commerce Centre (ICC Tower), which will be the world’s third tallest building with 118 stories. By the end of 2011, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel will be located in ICC Tower. 1881 Heritage which was opened last year offers excellent shopping, dining and other facilities, enriched with sophisticated services. On the other hand, there have been an increasing number of inquiries about nature experiences. Furuya explained about activities enabling visitors to Hong Kong to have contact with nature that include the pink dolphin-watching, tree-planting and volunteer work. As the Hong Kong government allocates a part of the profits from these activities to the conservation of nature, he said that the visitors to Hong Kong can also contribute to society while they enjoy experiencing nature.

Some companies decided already during the workshop to hold MICE in Hong Kong. An event of several thousands of people is said to have been planned during this year. Kunio Kano, Regional Director-North Asia, HKTB, reminded that “Japan-Hong Kong Tourism Exchange Year 2009” has been prolonged until March this year, hoping that the travel industry will also take full advantage of the extension in promoting MICE.

JTB Global Marketing & Travel Inc. (JTBGMT) has put on sale the new tour series “Spring Collection” targeting the foreign travelers visiting Japan on Easter holidays. Easter, a Christian festival when the resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated, falls on April 4 this year, and there are quite a number of holidaymakers in Europe and the United States who travel at this time taking a vacation before and after the festival. JTBGMT has lined up tours that feature cherry blossoms to spur demand and capture the incoming foreign travelers.

To give a few examples of the tours, “Tokyo Historical Town Walking with Cherry Blossoms,” sold at a price of 3,600 yen for an adult or a child, visits Yanaka and Ueno Kaneiji Temple on foot, and then proceeds to Ueno Park where tea and Japanese cake are served at a teahouse. Apart from other tours in Tokyo like “Cherry Blossoms and Oedo Onsen Theme Park,” there are unique tours such as “Experience at Kyoto Town House and Cherry Blossoms,” or “Green Tourism and Rural Experience” that visits Iiyama City, Nagano Prefecture, to enjoy the view of cherry blossoms at the ruins of Iiyama Castle.

Other newly marketed tours include “Okinawa Free Plan” and “Tour to 2010 MotoGP World Championship, Grand Prix of Japan.” JTBGMT sets sales goals of 450 participants for Spring Collection, 200 for Okinawa Free Plan, and 40 for Tour to Grand Prix of Japan..