Brand USA Garners Award at the Third Annual JATA Expo Japan
Brand USA was awarded second place in booth competition for the first time at the third Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) Tourism Expo Japan 2016, the largest consumer/trade show in Japan.
Brand USA competed against 1,181 other exhibitors to win one of the top prizes in the event, which registered a record-high total attendance of 185,844 for the four-day event held from September 22-25 at Tokyo Big Sight. The Japan Tourism Awards recognize contributions of companies and organizations who have worked to increase travel demand. The overall exhibition involved 140 countries and regions of the world, 47 administrative divisions of Japan and 1,181 companies and organizations worldwide.
A total of 27 exhibitors participated within the Brand USA Pavilion, including Hawaii and Northern Mariana Islands, as well as co-exhibitors from each direct marketing organization.
Brand USA Japan held a welcome reception for the exhibitors on September 21, providing information about the programs planned for the expo. Over 40 exhibitors attended the reception.
The destination marketing organization for the United States also held a Japan market briefing session, offering a 50-minute PowerPoint presentation including an Outbound Travel Market overview, Japanese traveler characteristics, travel trends from Japan to the U.S. and the Global Entry System.
Brand USA invited all key travel agents in Japan to one-on-one appointment sessions during which exhibitors offered the agents useful information to assist them in selling U.S tour products. In addition, Brand USA held a travel trade networking event, attended by 100 members of the travel trade and 50 exhibitors. Jason P. Hyland, Deputy Chief of Mission for American Embassy Tokyo, offered welcoming remarks.
Brand USA Japan worked closely with JATA and Visit USA Committee to arrange special stage events for the consumers. There were 14 stage performances including Taste of America Chef’s Talk Show and Tasting, music performances and a Hawaiian Hula exhibition.
Meanwhile, Brand USA Japan organized two media familiarization tours this past summer. The first took place on June 17-23 with media visiting California, Arizona and Utah. The second familiarization, held in August, brought the media to Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana.