The Tokyo government has expanded its promotional campaign in Cebu to reach out to more Filipinos to visit Japan.
“Manila and Cebu markets are different, and Cebu has many direct flights to Japan. I felt I need to do this kind of seminar in Cebu,” said Akito Tadokoro, director of Marketing and Promotion, Tourist Promotion Department of Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau (TCVB).
The TCVB team was here in Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu City last Wednesday to launch its promotional materials with Cebu’s leading travel agencies.
Last year, the team was in Manila for its first tourism campaign in the Philippines, and Akito said the event was a success as since then they see an increase in the number of tourists that comes to Japan.
He said from the 89,532 Filipinos who visited Japan in 2007, the number rose to 347,800 last year. And they are targeting 40 million tourists (25 million of these will be for Tokyo) in 2020 in time for the Soccer World Cup, which their country will be hosting.
“I know it is a high target for us, but we are aiming for it. We just need to continue our tourism promotional efforts,” he said.
He said among these efforts are the TV plugs on Tokyo they have been airing in Philippine TV stations and even on international TV where the Filipinos can watch it, the promotional materials they provide to travel agencies and the familiarization tours they give to travel agents.
With the rise in tourists that come and see Tokyo, Akito said they will meet this by building more hotels, improving their customer service and many others.
Tokyo has recently opened its two high-end hotels: the Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho and Hoshinoya Tokyo. As of last year, there are more than 10,000 rooms in Tokyo, and there will be 4,000 rooms to open before the year ends.
The Ginza Six, a commercial facility, is also set to open this year to lure the shopaholic travelers, said Akito. This is said to be a six-star shopping mall, with 241 brands occupying its posh units.
Akido said there will also be no problem with language-barrier for Filipinos and other foreigners as they have set up multilingual call center service centers and information centers in key areas. Digital signage can also be found in tourists spots, he said.
While the costly airfare and accommodation may be a hindrance for Filipinos to travel to Japan, Akito assured that the cost of living there is not expensive.
He said “maybe we need to do campaigns with airline companies to reduce airfare. That’s what we should do next.”
He said however that they see more younger Filipinos joining the throng of tourists who visit Japan, and they hope to see the number increase this year.
He said the best time to visit Japan is during the spring and autumn seasons. For budget travelers, he said the accommodation is cheap in mid August, before Christmas, and after the Golden Week (mid May to end of April). The Golden Week is on the first week of May, it is when the Japanese people travel for a holiday. After it, everyone stays at home and the hotels are almost empty, he said.
Chinese remain as the top tourists in Japan last year at 6 million, while the Filipinos was at the 1212 spot.
“Manila and Cebu markets are different, and Cebu has many direct flights to Japan. I felt I need to do this kind of seminar in Cebu,” said Akito Tadokoro, director of Marketing and Promotion, Tourist Promotion Department of Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau (TCVB).
The TCVB team was here in Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu City last Wednesday to launch its promotional materials with Cebu’s leading travel agencies.
Last year, the team was in Manila for its first tourism campaign in the Philippines, and Akito said the event was a success as since then they see an increase in the number of tourists that comes to Japan.
He said from the 89,532 Filipinos who visited Japan in 2007, the number rose to 347,800 last year. And they are targeting 40 million tourists (25 million of these will be for Tokyo) in 2020 in time for the Soccer World Cup, which their country will be hosting.
“I know it is a high target for us, but we are aiming for it. We just need to continue our tourism promotional efforts,” he said.
He said among these efforts are the TV plugs on Tokyo they have been airing in Philippine TV stations and even on international TV where the Filipinos can watch it, the promotional materials they provide to travel agencies and the familiarization tours they give to travel agents.
With the rise in tourists that come and see Tokyo, Akito said they will meet this by building more hotels, improving their customer service and many others.
Tokyo has recently opened its two high-end hotels: the Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho and Hoshinoya Tokyo. As of last year, there are more than 10,000 rooms in Tokyo, and there will be 4,000 rooms to open before the year ends.
The Ginza Six, a commercial facility, is also set to open this year to lure the shopaholic travelers, said Akito. This is said to be a six-star shopping mall, with 241 brands occupying its posh units.
Akido said there will also be no problem with language-barrier for Filipinos and other foreigners as they have set up multilingual call center service centers and information centers in key areas. Digital signage can also be found in tourists spots, he said.
While the costly airfare and accommodation may be a hindrance for Filipinos to travel to Japan, Akito assured that the cost of living there is not expensive.
He said “maybe we need to do campaigns with airline companies to reduce airfare. That’s what we should do next.”
He said however that they see more younger Filipinos joining the throng of tourists who visit Japan, and they hope to see the number increase this year.
He said the best time to visit Japan is during the spring and autumn seasons. For budget travelers, he said the accommodation is cheap in mid August, before Christmas, and after the Golden Week (mid May to end of April). The Golden Week is on the first week of May, it is when the Japanese people travel for a holiday. After it, everyone stays at home and the hotels are almost empty, he said.
Chinese remain as the top tourists in Japan last year at 6 million, while the Filipinos was at the 1212 spot.
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