THE Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) freshly inked a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) yesterday to drive greater tourism traffic between the two countries.
This marks the first MOC between both organisations, which also commemorates the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
To kickstart the Singapore-Japan 50 (SJ50) partnership, a local food fair will be organised in both countries. A tourism logo has also been jointly developed, featuring characters Hello Kitty and Dori-tan, which symbolises friendship.
Ryoichi Matsuyama, JNTO president, said: “We hope to establish a deeper mutual cooperation and in the end, promote stronger tourism bonds and partnerships between both nations.”
Markus Tan, regional director, north asia, STB, said: “Previously, when the Japanese thought of Singapore, Sentosa always came to mind, (but now) Singapore is gaining traction as a destination that offers cultural experiences and local cuisine.”
According to Chan Brothers Travel Singapore’s spokesperson, Rebecca Chia, the number of travellers headed for Japan last year showed a year-on-year increase of 30 per cent.
Similarly, Dynasty Travel Singapore’s spokesperson, Alicia Seah, said the company enjoyed a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent last year.
Both agencies agree that the favourable yen has helped stimulate travel to Japan.
