TokyoTomo Travel Guide

John Chirchir, Regional Marketing Manager of Kenya Tourist Board, talked at the trade seminar several days ago and said, “We see Japan as an attractive and promising market.” Japanese visitors traveling to Kenya comprise only 1 percent of the total. In 2008, the number of Japanese visitors to Kenya plummeted 30.5 percent to 7,411, but it rebounded by 30.6 percent in 2009 to 10,150, still shy of all-time high of 14,655 marked in 2006. Chirchir has set the future goal at 36,000, saying, “It is quite a challenge for us, but I believe it is attainable by making good coordination between our Japan Office and the Kenyan Government.”

Khalid Masud Salim, PR & Corporate Affairs Manager of Kenya Tourist Board, said that, since the FIFA World Cup is going to be held in Africa this year, Kenya is eager to get hold of the football fans visiting that international event. As Nairobi is four-hour flight away from the World Cup site, the Tourist Board recommends making a stopover in Kenya on their way to or from South Africa. In the meantime, Kenya now enjoys better access from Japan because Emirates inaugurate direct service from Narita to Dubai in March and Qatar Airways starts daily operation on Narita/Nairobi route in April. Moreover, bilateral talks are reportedly underway between Kenya and Japan to enable operation of direct flights to bridge the two countries. Chirchir is hopeful of more Japanese visitors to Kenya should the direct flights become operational.

Enhancement of Kenya’s visibility starts from travel industries
In the Chirchir’s assessment, Kenya as travel destination is rather in low profile among Japanese people. He also acknowledges that Japanese travelers have propensity to ask for detailed information about the destinations they visit, which is quite different from those of other nationalities. Besides, they depend more or less on the information given by travel agencies when selecting travel destinations. Therefore, he thinks it critical to furnish travel agencies with adequate information about Kenya. Salim joins him in saying, “Our first priority is to enhance awareness and knowledge of Kenya in the travel industries. Promotion targeting consumers comes next.” They are planning a familiarization tour for travel agencies with support of an airline and two ground operators. As means of boosting the awareness, they are going to distribute DVDs and maps to the agencies and at the same time transmit information from the “Magical Kenya” website.

Source: Travel Vision

Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.

Akira Kanai, chairman of Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), remarked in the opening speech at the JATA Management Forum on February 16, “We should make 2010 the year for us to go on the offensive.” After having been plagued by the economic crisis and the H1N1 flu epidemic in 2009, “Travel industry is favored in 2010 by numerous exhilarating events,” he said, citing the Winter Olympics, Shanghai Expo, FIFA World Cup, and the 1300th anniversary of capital relocation to Nara on the one hand and increased landing slots at Narita Airport and internationalization at Haneda Airport on the other.

Since the administration of the Democratic Party of Japan has hammered out a policy to make tourism an integral part of the growth scenario, he clarified JATA’s stance with the remark, “We will work with Japan Tourism Agency as a private sector to promote outbound, inbound, and domestic travel in a bid to achieve the goals outlined in the Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan.” He also made allusion to the subject of this year’s Management Forum, “Ride on the Waves! Change Yourselves and Get a Chance!” and said, “JATA must change itself by keeping pace with the times. JATA World Tourism Congress and Travel Fair, for instance, should provide a versatile business arena for BtoB transactions in order to help member agencies collect necessary information and team up with new partners.”

Acknowledging travel industry is still undergoing a tough time, he said, “We must find a glimmer of hope even at the very bottom of the economic cycle. It is important to summon our courage to make a sure step forward in such direction. I notice some JATA members have shown outstanding performance in the midst of the flagging economy.” It goes to show, he continued, that travel agencies still stand a fair chance of making a further evolution so far as they are successful in following the market trends correctly, then repositioning quality and price of their own products, renewing distribution system, and boosting customer satisfaction. He said, “It is crucial to change ourselves in order to meet those challenges.”

Source: Travel Vision

Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.

Kinki Nippon Tourist (KNT) intends to make 2010 the revival year of overseas group travel to attain a 40 percent growth in the number of group customers over last year. Yoshinori Ochi, senior managing director of KNT, spoke at the 8th Overseas Travel Exchange Convention held on February 9, “Overseas travel revenue in 2009 made no gains despite a moderate growth in the number of customers. Group sales, in particular, declined 25 percent, which triggered deterioration in KNT’s business performance,” and continued, “What it takes to return to profitability this year is to restore the strength now in overseas group sales. That is everything. Our energy and tenacity are required to make Japanese economy vibrant.”

Shoichi Gonda, executive officer, says, “Enquiries about group tour planning is increasing. In addition to economical skeleton-type tours, those rich in contents are being requested. It is too early to say the worst is behind us, but we see some light at the end of the tunnel.” So he is eager to generate momentum by taking this opportunity.

Gonda is hopeful of making more business in 2010 of group tours bound for Hawaii and other long-haul destinations as he has got a number of requests for consultation and estimation to such destinations. He says KNT has changed a buying method in Europe and, therefore, can offer decent hotels at competitive prices.

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