Japan Office Update
Brand USA Showcases the United States at Travel Trade Event in Japan
Brand USA Japan joined in this year’s Tourism Expo Japan 2019, the largest tourism trade fair in Japan which attracted 150,000 visitors during the four-day event.
Nearly 50,000 trade professionals participated in the trade event, sponsored by the Japan Association of Travel Agents, (JATA) and held on October 24-27 for the first time in Osaka at INTEX OSAKA. The event consisted of two trade days and two consumer days and included B2B appointments, networking events and travel showcases.
Brand USA Japan participated in the trade fair to stimulate travel demand to the U.S. Brand USA partners attending included: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Explore Fairbanks, Travel Portland, Travel Nevada, Visit California, Marianas Visitors Authority, Visit Seattle, Best Western Hotels and Resorts; and the Visa Waiver Program powered by the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), an automated system that determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States.
During the B2B appointment sessions, Brand USA Japan met with 20 travel agencies, travel media and tour operators including JTB, H.I.S., Kinki Nippon Tourist, Nippon Travel Agency, Hankyu Travel International and JALPAK. Brand USA introduced new itineraries to participating tour operators.
In addition, Brand USA Japan hosted movie premieres of its big-screen film, “America’s Musical Journey, ” in Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka from September 24-27, leveraging the success of its ongoing “Hear the Music” campaign and utilizing the power of music to promote travel to the U.S. Nearly 70 travel agents and media participated in Osaka as well as 55 in Nagoya, and 50 in Fukuoka.
These regional cities play important roles in tourism as Haneda Airport is set to increase its daytime arrival and departure slots in the spring of 2020. An increasing number of Japanese travelers are expected to fly to the U.S. using Haneda from various regional cities across Japan. Departing from Osaka, Japan Airlines currently offers daily flights to Los Angeles, while United Airlines has daily flights to San Francisco. A film sponsor, Air Canada, flies from Osaka to Vancouver with connecting flights to other U.S. cities. Departing from Nagoya, Delta Air Lines currently flies to Detroit.
Prior to the screening, Brand USA offered a presentation about its ongoing initiatives and its “Hear the Music” campaign and hosted a reception to strengthen the working relationships between travel trade partners in the Kansai, Chubu and Kyushu regions.