Brand USA and the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) Launch Japan-U.S. Tourism Exchange Year
Effort Announced at JATA Tourism Forum & Travel Showcase 2012
The Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) and Brand USA has announced the launch of the Japan-U.S. Tourism Exchange Year. The nationwide one-year initiative runs from September 2012 through August 2013 to jointly stimulate tourism between the two countries. The goal of the Japan to U.S. effort is to generate 3.75 million inbound travelers from Japan to the United States by the year 2016.
The announcement was made by Brand USA’s Chief Business Development Officer Paul Cerula and JATA Vice Chairman Hiromi Tagawa during a signing ceremony in Tokyo at the JATA Tourism Forum & Travel Showcase 2012, Japan’s leading travel fair.
The Japan-U.S. Tourism Exchange Year includes seven key activity initiatives:
- Generate awareness for the “Japan-U.S. Tourism Exchange Year” among Japanese travel trade and consumers.
- Launch educational programs targeting Japanese tour operators to boost the number of U.S. fans within the Japanese trade.
- Launch business-to-business promotions to encourage Japanese travel wholesalers to create new U.S. travel tour packages.
- Stimulate travel demand between “sister cities” in Japan and the United States.
- Develop promotions to support the launch of newly launched flights between Japan and the United States.
- Boost the number of Japanese and U.S. participants and exhibitors in the JATA Tourism Forum & Travel Showcase (JATA) in Japan and International Pow Wow (IPW) in the United States.
- Continuously enhance relationships between the Japanese and U.S. travel industry via regular high-level meetings.
“On behalf of JATA, I am very pleased to announce the signing of Japan- U.S. Tourism Exchange Year with Brand USA,” said JATA Vice Chairman Hiromi Tagawa. “Japan considers the United States to be an important destination for Japanese outbound travelers. We hope the number of travelers to the U.S. will increase with various tourism exchanges made through this initiative.”
In 2011, 3.25 million travelers from Japan visited the United States and spent $14.8 billion, making Japan the #2 and #1 largest overseas visitation and spending market, respectively, for the United States. (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Association, Office of Travel & Tourism Industries; May 2012 report).
As part of the Japan-U.S. Exchange Year, JATA and Brand USA have established the “Tourism Exchange Year Working Group,” which consists of representatives from Japan’s major travel agencies and travel suppliers. The working group will meet on a regular basis in Tokyo in order to develop and successfully execute against the Exchange Year’s seven initiatives.
Endorsers of the Japan-U.S. Exchange Year include the Japan Tourism Agency; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA); U.S. Embassy Tokyo; the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan; the U.S. Travel Association; the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO); All Nippon Travel Association (ANTA); Overseas Tour Operators Association of Japan (OTOA); Visit USA Committee Japan; Narita International Airport Corp.; Tokyo International Air Terminal Corp.; Central Japan International Airport Corp.; Kansai International Airport Corp.; U.S. States and Cities Tourism Offices; Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.; All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.; Delta Air Lines, Inc.; United Air Lines, Inc.; American Airlines, Inc.; and Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.
About JATA
Founded in 1959, the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) is sanctioned by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism based on the Travel Agency Law. JATA seeks to improve the quality of services provided to travelers to and from Japan. It contributes to the development of the travel and tourism industry through a variety of activities, including disseminating information, encouraging cooperation among members, and promoting the development of businesses and legislation that will benefit the membership and the industry at large. Each year, JATA hosts the annual JATA Tourism Forum & Travel Showcase, one of the largest tourism events in Asia.
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About Brand USA
Brand USA is the nation’s destination marketing organization, dedicated to attracting legitimate international inbound travel to strengthen the U.S. economy, increase exports, create quality jobs, and promote community prosperity. By running data-driven campaigns and unifying messaging across industry and government, Brand USA positions the United States as a top global destination while providing current visa and entry information.
Since 2012 Brand USA, in collaboration with travel industry partners, has been responsible for attracting an additional 10.3 million visitors who spent nearly $35 billion in the United States, generating $76 billion in economic output, and sustaining nearly 40,000 jobs per year. Without any cost to taxpayers, these efforts have generated $10 billion in tax receipts and returned $20 to the U.S. economy for every dollar spent.