WTTC, UNWTO Leaders to Address JATA International Forum

David Scowsill, president and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), will join Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as panelists during the JATA Tourism Forum (Sept. 13 and 14, 2013), under the four-day JATA TABIHAKU Travel Showcase.

Their role as panelists in the JATA Tourism Forum, representing the most influential leading tourism organizations in the world, underscores the importance of not only Japan but Asia as a whole as the hub of tourism in the decades to come, thanks in part to the phenomenal economic growth and rise of middle-class consumers who now wield more buying power than ever before.

Rifai will give the keynote address then will join Scowsill in the first panel on Sept. 13 on the theme “The Rapidly Growing Asian Market and Significance for Tourism Industry” beginning at 1 p.m. in East Exhibition Hall 6, Forum Stage. The panel will also include Hiromi Tagawa, vice chairman, Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), and CEO, JTB Corp. Yoshiaki Hompo, professor, Tokyo Metropolitan University, and former Commissioner of Japan Tourism Agency, will serve as the moderator.

Rifai has led UNWTO since his appointment in 2010. Prior to that he was UNWTO Secretary-General ad interim and served as Deputy Secretary-General. He also held several posts including assistant Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Minister of Information and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, each for the government of Jordan.

Scowsill was named president and CEO of WTTC in 2010. Before his appointment, he served in various leadership roles including Chairman of PrivateFly, Chairman of Yuuguu, Director of On the Beach Holidays, Director of i-level Digital, Vice Chairman at Worldhotels; Director of Venere Net SpA; Group Marketing Director at Manchester Airports Group, Sales and Marketing Director at easyJet airlines and CEO for Opodo.

Meanwhile, a second panel discussion -- “Industry Talk: Untapped Market Potentials in Northeast Asia” – will follow immediately, featuring experts from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The panel will include John Koldowski, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Moo-Seung Yang, chairman, Korea Association of Travel Agents (KATA); Jason Wang, chairman, LION GROUP; and Hiroshi Kurosu, chief researcher, Japan Travel Bureau Foundation, as moderator.

For a complete schedule of JATA TABIHAKU 2013, please click the link below:
http://www.b.tabihaku.jp/en/about.php

UNWTO-JATA Partnership Agreement Awaits Signing

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) will sign a Comprehensive Partnership Agreement during the opening ceremony of the JATA TABIHAKU Travel Showcase 2013, a development that will pave the way for stronger mutual cooperation between the two organizations.

The first ever to be signed between the two organizations, the pact indirectly will help further buoy JATA TABIHAKU as the largest travel show in Asia while poising it to become one of the top three major trade shows internationally along with ITB Berlin in Germany and World Travel Mart in London.

In the works for two years, the agreement, to be signed by Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of UNWTO, and Jungo Kikuma, Chairman of JATA, will run from Sept. 13, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2016, with an opportunity to extend.

Under the agreement, both sides will be able to combine efforts in tourism-related activities and joint development. It will also help enhance the role of the tourism sector through the development and promotion of the industry while maintaining international standards of practice to ensure quality and effectiveness.

The membership of UNWTO includes 156 countries, six Associate Members and more than 400 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.

JATA, an association sanctioned by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, has some 1,117 active members, 492 associate members and 89 overseas allied members. One of its goals is to improve the quality of services provided to travelers to and from Japan while contributing to the development of the travel and tourism industry.

Media, Industry Professionals to Meet at Business Meeting

Businesses and media from overseas and domestically will have their chance to meet with the movers and shakers in the travel industry at the International Business Meeting set for Sept. 12 and 13, 2013 at the East Exhibition Hall, 6, from 9 a.m. to 5:40 p.m.

Businesses – inbound and outbound travel -- will have pre-scheduled appointments during the first day with the second day to be conducted in a non-appointment, open session format. For the outbound session, there will be 149 buyers (197 people) and 285 sellers (340), The inbound session will have 112 buyers (118 people) and 217 sellers (299).

Meanwhile, travel industry media from the U.S., Australia, the U.K., Singapore, Taiwan and Sri Lanka will join their Japanese counterparts in face-to-face discussions on the first day on Sept. 12 only (limited to 30 minutes due to the number of registered participants) with representatives from airlines, hotels, national tourist organizations and regional promotion offices, activities and transportation firms.

It will be the first time for international journalists to participate in the Media Meeting, a new program introduced last year to enhance communications between the media and travel firms.

Some 150 journalists from 60 companies will be seated at assigned tables in the venue where exhibitors and industry representatives will visit in a non-appointment, open session system.

English-only Outbound Travel Market Up-date Seminar Set

One of the most popular gatherings each year at JATA TABIHAKU is the Outbound Travel Market Up-date Seminar, with this year’s session to be held early in the morning of Sept. 13 before the official opening ceremony begins.

Starting at 8:30 a.m. in the East Exhibition Hall, 6, Special Seminar Room, the seminar provides the latest trends and information on outbound travel. Each year it attracts members from national and regional tourism offices as well as those handling Japanese visitors.

The speakers this year will be Tetsunori Dambara, managing director of Miki Tourist Japan, and Marjorie L. Dewey, president of Connectworldwide Japan.

Number of Exhibitors on Record Pace

The tentative number of companies/organizations that have applied as exhibitors at JATA TABIHAKU 2013 is expected to surpass the count set last year when it reached 708 companies/organizations, generating in all 1,093 booths.

The numbers – unannounced so far -- would make this year’s event the largest among the 23 held in JATA history since 1977.

With inbound travel reaching record levels, booths in the “Japan Exhibition Zone” will total about 338, a 34% rise in number from 2012. Also, an area in East Hall 6 will be used for the JATA Tohoku Recovery Support Zone that will feature a Charity Auction, Tohoku-exclusive souvenirs and tour products, with proceeds to go toward helping the recovery efforts in Tohoku.

Meanwhile, among other zones, tentatively here are some of the numbers: Brand USA will boast some 45 booths, up 20% from a year ago while the strength of Team Europe will welcome more than 43 companies/organizations, a 26% rise from 2012. Also, the Middle East will see an increase to 18 booths from 10 a year earlier, underscoring the interest in, and expansion of, this region. The presence of hotels, thanks to changes in policies of inbound and domestic travel, will grow 52% in booth participation. As for transportation, airlines and buses together are expected to boast a rise to 75% in booths, from 90 to nearly 160.

Yakatabune
-- on the Water in Tokyo --
in Special ‘FamTour’

The waters on the Sumida River in Tokyo grow crowded especially during the summer months when fireworks events grace the skies, making riding in a yakatabune all the more exciting.

Yakatabune -- loosely translated as roof-shaped boat or houseboat -- are private boats with low ceilings that today hold parties that include food and drinks. They are popular especially for the sakura or cherry-blossom viewing season, end-of-the year parties, fireworks viewing and the casual reception following the official wedding reception where friends and family can do away with formalities. The flat boats are inconspicuous except for their red paper lanterns that decorate the edges of the roof and glow brightly at night, creating a classical feel.

In the eighth century, the boats were used only by aristocrats in Kyoto, then later were used in Tokyo by the country's feudal rulers and rich merchants when the capital shifted from Kyoto in 1603, the start of the Edo Period in Japan's history. Many of the boats then were lavishly decorated, heightened by competition among merchants.

The boats today, featuring low tables and shoji sliding doors, have guests sit on tatami floors while being served traditional Japanese cuisine and beverages.

As part of the hospitality of the JATA TABIHAKU Travel Showcase 2013, hosted foreign media and buyers will be able to participate in a familiarization tour or FamTour called "Classic Edo" or Classic Tokyo that includes a chance to experience the yakatabune, considered a fixture of Tokyo Bay.

The average cost for an experience on the boat starts from 10,000 yen per person for two to three hours that take guests along the Sumida River and onto the Tokyo Bay to view the city, including the Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo SkyTree and more. Tours for lunch and dinner are available depending on the season.

Meanwhile, the FamTour will also include a visit to Kiyosumi Garden, kimono experience, Geisha entertainment on the yatakabune, a Japanese magic show at Japanese Ryotei in Mukojima, a visit to Kanda Myojin Shrine and Kanda House.

Calendar of Events

Through Sept. 8, 2013:Tokyo. Ukiyo-e: Floating World from the Saito Collection. A range of wood-block prints at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo. 2-6-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.
http://www.mimt.jp/ukiyoe/about_eng.html

Through Sept. 8, 2013: Tokyo. The Power of Manga: Osamu Tezuka and Shotaro Ishimori, at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibit pays tribute to two of Japan's pioneer manga artists who have created such works as Tezuka's Atom Boy and Ishimori's Cyborg 009.
http://www.mot-art-museum.jp/eng/current.htmll

Through Sept. 16: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Yokohama. The Great Japan Beer Festival 2013 is currently held at five different venues on five different dates in Japan, offering the public an alternative to mainstream beers from huge breweries. There will be more than 120 different craft beers to sample at each festival location, some of which cannot be found anywhere else.

- Sept. 14-16, Yokohama, Osanbashi Hall at Yokohama Port
http://www.beertaster.org/index-e.html

Sept. 12-15, 2013: Tokyo. JATA TABIHAKU Travel Showcase 2013. Japan’s largest travel show at Tokyo BigSight 2013. Travel industry days on Sept. 12, 13, with consumer days on Sept. 14, 15.
http://www.b.tabihaku.jp/en/about.php

Through Oct. 8, 2013: Tokyo. An art exhibition called COLOR-HUNTING directed by Dai Fujiwara. It uses method capturing actual colors in the natural and urban environment and reproducing them on paper. At 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT in Tokyo.
http://www.2121designsight.jp/en/program/color_hunting/

Spring, Summer, Autumn 2013: Seto Inland Sea Islands. The Setouchi Triennale 2013 is a major contemporary art festival held in four islands in the Seto inland sea (Shamijima, Honjima, Awashima and Ibukijima) during three seasons, allowing visitors to experience various contemporary artwork during the different seasons of Japan. Visitors will also experience the slower place of life in the islands and the beauty that it offer. Between seasons, some art sites will remain open.
http://setouchi-artfest.jp/en/


Summer: July 20-Sept. 1, 2013 
Autumn: Oct. 5-Nov. 4, 2013

Oct. 5～6, 2013: Tokyo. Harajuku Kawaii (Cute) Fes 2013. The two-day festival focuses on the cute-culture in Japan, featuring icons and musicians in street appearances and performances, including fashion shows in the streets of Harajuku.
http://fes2013.asbs.jp

Oct. 26～Nov. 4, 2013: Tokyo. Tokyo Designers Week 2013 at Meiji Jingu Gaien park and other venues in Tokyo. Considered the country’s biggest trade show at a custom-built venue designed by Kimi Hasegawa at the park. Being rebranded as a design festival rather than an exhibition, ranging from architecture to fashion to fine art.
http://www.tdwa.com/en/

Oct. 27. Tochigi. AirAsia Grand Prix of Japan in Motegi, Tochigi. It is part of the 2013 MotoGP Championship.
http://www.motogp.com/en/events/Japan/2013

Japan by Numbers

The Japan Association of Travel Agents’ diffusion index (DI) represents business sentiment of JATA-member agencies, based on their responses regarding current and future business climate, with 100 as good and -100 as poor. The latest survey results (July to September 2013) represent a 54.1% response rate among 622 registered companies.