Japan doubles tourism target

HAVING almost reached its target of 20 million international visitors five years ahead of schedule, #Japan has doubled its 2020 tourism goal to 40 million arrivals. 

The government is also aiming to generate JPY8 trillion ($71.6 billion) in spending by overseas visitors, more than double last year’s spending by foreign tourists.

Driven by a weak yen, international arrivals in Japan surged 47.3% to 19.73 million in 2015.

The Japan National Tourism Organization had earlier set a target of reaching 20 million visitors by 2020, the year in which Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games.

The country’s tourism minister, Mr Keiichi Ishii, says the targets are ‘highly feasible’ given the implementation of policies such as increased promotional efforts to attract visitors from Europe, the US, and Australia, opening state guesthouses, revamping Japan’s national parks, and improving major sightseeing spots.


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New record for Oz tourism

AUSTRALIA’S visitor economy continues to grow, with the latest numbers confirming that 2015 was another record-breaking year for overseas arrivals, says the Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF). The number of overseas tourists rose by 8.2% to 7.4 million, of whom 4.2 million were return visitors. 

The country’s four leading source markets were New Zealand, China, Britain, and the US.

Total tourist spend for the year was A$13.4 billion.

‘There are very few industry sectors in #Australia at the moment that can claim to be seeing consecutive years of strong growth as we can say about tourism,’ said Margy Osmond, TTF CEO. ‘We are continuing to see massive growth in the China market which has recorded 21.9 per cent growth in 2015 compared to the previous year.

‘This is what happens when you invest in the tourism sector – you see a strong uptick in visitor numbers and that means more Australian jobs and more economic activity in our cities and regional communities. Tourism is a booming industry for Australia and it’s one of the key pillars of our future economic success. We need a stronger partnership between government and industry that puts tourism at the heart of Australia’s future economic growth strategy to help fill the post-mining boom void.

‘We need to see more investment in Australia’s tourism industry by federal, state, and territory governments – they are all making tough financial decisions in their up upcoming budgets, but the evidence shows that investing delivers a strong long-term financial return.’

Ms Osmond said that more than 63 percent of overseas visitors in 2015 had been to the country previously, which highlighted the importance of the return visitor market to Australia’s tourism economy. ‘The first rule of any good business is that retaining existing customers is cheaper than attracting new ones – so it’s crucial to provide the best visitor experience possible and strong attractions with smart marketing to keep them coming back, because return visitors spend just as much on average as those during their first visit.’

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UK still in hot demand despite Chinese slowdown

FEARS of an economic slowdown in China, the devaluation of the yuan, and stock market turmoil have grabbed headlines throughout January, raising questions about the demand for luxury goods among Chinese consumers in 2016. But despite these concerns, intelligence from retail tourism specialist Global Blue indicates that demand in China for UK travel is still high.

Although economic growth in China has been the slowest in a decade, people continue to travel and spend in the UK. Market research firm GfK says 109 million Chinese travelled abroad in 2015 – 9 million more than 2014 – and forecasts that this number will grow in 2016, and that by 2020 it will rise to more than 200 million.

Gordon Clark, managing director (UK and Ireland) at Global Blue said: ‘The new two-year visa for Chinese visitors to the UK, which launched in January following a campaign by the UK China Visa Alliance, offers a boosted incentive for shoppers to visit the UK over Paris or Milan.’

The hotspot for Chinese consumers in London is Mayfair, Piccadilly, and St James’s, an area that’s home to two-thirds of the world’s top 100 luxury brands where average transaction values reportedly reach £1,400.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/56300399@N06/9959444444">piccadilly circus</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">(license)

FCO warns against school trips to France

UK school trips to #France are being cancelled on the advice of the French government.This follows a French ministry of education warning against foreign school groups travelling to the country.

Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has updated its travel advice to recommend that British schools planning to take groups to France between now and November 22 follow the French education ministry’s advice not to travel.

But school trips already under way in France can continue as planned.

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Cameron sets out five-point UK tourism plan

A FIVE-POINT plan to boost tourism across the #UK has been unveiled by prime minister David Cameron.

An inter-ministerial group is being set up to co-ordinate activity across government and ensure that #tourism is factored into decision-making across departments in Whitehall.

The group will be headed by culture secretary John Whittingdale and will include ministers from the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Home Office, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

It will focus, says Mr Cameron, on five areas:

• A better co-ordinated sector: Tourism is too fragmented. The government       

  wants to see local attractions and tourism organizations collaborating to grow     the sector for everyone. 

• Skills and jobs: Driving and retaining talent in the sector to encourage growth.
• ‘Common sense’ regulation:  Reforming regulation to drive competition and   

   improve the tourism offer for visitors.
•  Transport: Forging links between the transport and tourism sectors to help 

   visitors travel outside London.
•   An improved welcome: Delivering a world-class welcome at the border.

Ministers from the Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Ireland governments will be invited to join the group when relevant.

Cameron said: ‘Millions of overseas tourists visit the UK every year and most take in the sights of London. But Britain has so much more to offer, from the Cornish Riviera to the Scottish Highlands and everything in between. For many areas, tourism is a key industry bringing jobs, growth, and security for working people. Tourism supports almost one-in-10 jobs in the UK and we want to re-balance the economy to make sure this boost is felt right across the country.’

Backing for Cameron’s five-point plan has come from UKinbound.

Chief executive, Deirdre Wells, said: ‘It is great to hear the strong support from the prime minister for tourism – recognizing its role as the UK's third biggest service export and a major employer, particularly for young people. We welcome the commitment to improve the visa service for visitors and to deliver a world-class transport network, both air and rail. Improving the service which our visitors receive from the ‘border to their bed’ – including visa processing and transport connectivity – is something for which UKinbound has long campaigned.’

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A world on the move …

IRELAND’S Central Statistics Office reports that almost 3.9 million foreign tourists visited the republic in the first half of 2015, up by 11.7% on the same period last year. 

More than 1.6 million of them were from the UK, up by 9.4%, while numbers from the US and Canada rose by 15%.

VIENNA registered 6.3 million visitor overnights between January and June 2015 – 5.4 per cent more than for the same period in previous year and an all-time record. 

Vienna’s top markets in the half-year included Germany, the US, Italy, and the UK.

ST. LUCIA has seen a surge in holiday bookings, says the Expedia Group. Overall, demand increased by more than 20% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2015.

GERMANY recorded 27.1 million overnight stays by foreign visitors between January and May this year, a 4.1% increase on the same period last year. Tourists from the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Great Britain accounted for almost half of the increase.

GUERNSEY reports strong Q2 results, with the total number of staying visitors up 6.2% year-on-year. Total overnight stays were up 10.7% and the average length of stay increased by 4.3%. This follows healthy visitor numbers in Q1, which saw a 7.3% increase. From January to June, there was an overall increase of 6.5% – to 102,000 – in the number of staying visitors.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54238124@N00/1413904048">Lough Leane, Killarney National Park, Kerry, Ireland</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license), http://www.flickr.com/photos/33174580@N00/7337171826">Smugglers Cove</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license), http://www.flickr.com/photos/8851994@N05/3488379497">Vienna at Night</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Israel sees foreign tourism slump

#ISRAEL is seeing a drop in its tourism flow in the first half of 2015. Just over 4.1 million foreign tourists made overnight stays, a drop of 25 percent on the first half of 2014.

#Eilat saw a drop of 46 percent. Other affected tourist spots include the #DeadSea, Jerusalem, and the Galilee, with falls of 34%, 27% and 29% respectively. Haifa and Tel Aviv were least affected by the decline, but still saw drops of 17% and 14%.

Domestic tourism, however, increased, with overnight hotel stays – mostly in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv – rising by eight percent.

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