Japan may not be open to tourism just yet, but that doesn’t mean that travel professionals aren’t fine-tuning their destination education and gearing up for an influx of future bookings to the country.
In preparation for the country’s eventual reopening, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) — in partnership with TravelAge West — hosted the first Japan Outdoor and Adventure Virtual Marketplace, which took place from March 8-9, 2022.
Currently, border enforcement measures are in place throughout the country. Effective March 1, business travelers with a valid visa are welcome following a three-day quarantine and a week of monitoring, according to JNTO. At some point in the future, quarantine measures may loosen for those who have been boosted against COVID-19 (and who arrive from qualifying areas), but no firm timeline has been set.
Despite this, Kenneth Shapiro, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of TravelAge West, said he felt like it was an appropriate time for advisors to begin planning future trips, so they can be ready once the borders do reopen.
He also noted that adventure tourism will likely be popular once travelers return.
“It couldn’t be a better time to have this event, as things start to get back to normal,” Shapiro said as he addressed advisors at the start of the Marketplace. “What we are seeing is that things are looking very good for spring, summer and beyond. I think adventure travel — getting out into nature and unique destinations — is really trending right now. This is a great time to be looking at this topic.”
The two-day event featured one-on-one appointments between 23 hand-picked North American travel advisors and Japanese tourism organizations, including convention and visitors bureaus, hotels and resorts, destination management organizations and private travel suppliers.
We wanted to use this time as an opportunity to offer more educational opportunities to advisors who can now be even more prepared to deliver their clients the best travel experiences in Japan.
Kay Allen, communications manager for JNTO’s Los Angeles office, added that it was important for JNTO and its supplier partners to continue connecting with travel advisors, because even though clients cannot physically get to Japan right now, “travelers have not stopped dreaming about future trips.”
“We know there is such an eagerness among travelers to return to Japan,” she said. “So, we wanted to use this time as an opportunity to offer more educational opportunities to advisors who can now be even more prepared to deliver their clients the best travel experiences in Japan."
Ronda Helton, luxury travel designer and owner of The Travel Connection Group, was one such advisor.
“Japan is a destination that I am not as familiar with, since I have yet to travel there,” Helton said. “Now, having these key partners in place really makes it easier to successfully promote and book travel to Japan. Making time for events such as this are essential now, more than ever. With these carefully curated events, it's time very well spent for me, my agents and the suppliers.”
Having these key partners in place really makes it easier to successfully promote and book travel to Japan. Making time for events such as this are essential now, more than ever.
The adventure opportunities presented during the event were wide-reaching — in both ability level and location within Japan — and introduced a variety of offerings, from brown bear viewing in Hokkaido and wood-carving classes at The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko, to a small-group hike along the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route with tour operator Oku Japan. (Another attendee favorite? A zipline excursion, called Godzilla Interception Operation Awaji, which is located at the theme park Nijigen no Mori on Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture.)
Stephen Scott, founder and CEO of Travel Hub 365, said the event brought value to his business by being “informative, full of personal connections and unique in its composition of people, teams and on-site companies bringing each place to life.”
“This event brought me a lot of value, because I now have a stronger understanding of the geography and capabilities of the on-site partners supporting adventure travel,” Scott said. “I was blown away at the mixture of regions covering hiking mountains, historic walking trails, and amazing cycling paths across bridges and forests.”
Travel advisors, suppliers and TravelAge West staff gathered virtually on March 8 to kick off JNTO’s Outdoor and Adventure Virtual Marketplace.
Credit: 2022 Emma Weissmann
JNTO’s Allen added that the organization has continued to prioritize and promote off-the-beaten-path travel in Japan and thinks this type of travel will be especially appealing as the world emerges out of the pandemic.
“Many travelers have opted for destinations with less crowding and options for venturing out more into nature in this post-COVID-19 world, and we believe that this trend will continue going forward,” Allen said. “We are excited to partner with some of the many destinations and suppliers in Japan that provide amazing outdoor and adventure travel activities.”
Advisors who attended the Outdoor and Adventure Virtual Marketplace received a $100 gift card supplied by JNTO and a digital guide — produced in conjunction with TravelAge West — that features a supplier contact directory complete with website links, video imagery and email addresses for the presenting suppliers.
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