IN ITS first European showing since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Japan is discovering the hard truth – that it will take a while before the US and European international association meetings will return.
“Cancellations of these meetings are still continuing, while new business is not coming in, from what I understand from (Japanese participants at IMEX),” said Iwamoto Koichi, counsellor, Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), the body to which Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) reports.
As of April 15, 60 international meetings had been cancelled throughout Japan. The number of overseas visitors to the country dropped 50.3 per cent in March and 62.5 per cent in April, over the same months last year.
JTA’s top priority is to halt the slew of cancellations by communicating the latest, most accurate and scientific information about the safety of travelling to Japan. JNTO’s website has a new feature, Japan Now on Video, showing live examples of tourists enjoying themselves in the country.
MICE Research Institute (MRI), a private sector think-tank that does MICE-specific research and surveys, has launched a Japan After 3.11 website (http://www.mice-ri.or.jp/en/japanafter311/index.html) aimed at giving planners accurate information.
“We have been writing directly to organisations thinking about cancelling international meetings, and asking them to reconsider,” said Koichi.
“We have also requested that foreign governments re-examine their travel advisories and evacuation instructions, since some of these have encompassed completely unaffected cities, resulting in a series of cancellations of international meetings scheduled for those places,” he added.
“We have emphasised that an objective assessment will constitute genuine support for Japan’s recovery efforts.”
Mariko Tatsumi, deputy manager Marketing Group of Japan Convention Bureau, believes, however, that April’s 62 per cent dip in foreign arrivals was the rock bottom. “Already, some incentive groups and leisure travel from Asia are slowly coming back,” she said.
“Asia has more information and understands better that many areas are not affected,” she explained. “It has become a more important source than Europe, but we cannot discount Europe, as it is where many of the international associations have their headquarters, and Japan is strong in this.”
The bureau is slated to get additional budget to mount extra promotional activities and organise fam trips for press members and meeting planners. This is scheduled for summer, Tatsumi said.
JTA’s Koichi said that apart from fam trips, Japan is keen to convene and host meetings in the disaster-hit areas for international delegates. “This has three advantages – delegates returning home will inform others about safety, local citizens will have their morale boosted, and preparing for and operating such meetings will further internationalise their facilities and enhance their skills,” he said.
