On July 7, JATA (Japan Association of Travel Agents) held a meeting for the press titled “Toward the ‘Revival’ of the Travel Industry. Chairman Hiroyuki Takahashi and executives in charge of domestic, international, and inbound travel explained the market situation and their efforts.
In particular, the “JATA Resumption of Overseas Travel Project,” a measure to stimulate demand for overseas travel announced on the same day, will be led by the JATA Outbound Travel Promotion Council (JOTC), an internal organization, with travel agencies, airport companies, airlines, tourist bureaus, and embassies working together to conduct street sampling, post posters and other materials, and conduct a campaign to win travel and air tickets through SNS. A campaign to win travel and airline tickets through social networking services will be launched on July 15.
By following the official Twitter account (@jataoutbound) and posting a post with the hashtag “destinations you want to visit,” you can win overseas travel, international airline tickets, local hotels, optional tours, cruises, airline company novelty goods, tourism bureau, embassy, and tourism-related organization goods, etc. The contest is sponsored by 57 organizations and offers approximately 300 prizes. The application period is from July 15 to 29, and details will be announced on the website to be opened on July 15.
At the press conference, Chairman Hiroyuki Takahashi explained that while the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that the recovery of international air travel will exceed the pre-Corona level of 2019 by 2024, the recovery in Asia, especially in China, will be delayed, and the industry will not return to pre-Corona levels until 2025 or later. In fact, he said, the industry continues to face difficult conditions, as the order trends of major travel agencies are “in reality about 30% to 40% of the previous level” from April to September 2022.
In addition, Mr. Takahashi emphasized as “the most important point today” that tourism is one of the pillars of the government’s growth strategy, and at the same time, the industry is currently supported by many highly specialized small and medium-sized enterprises that support the tourism infrastructure, and he would like to “strongly appeal to the government not to stop supporting the industry until the market is normalized. Citing Japan’s strict conditions for entry for tourism purposes compared to G7 countries, he also reiterated his appeal for the removal of the daily cap of 20,000 inbound and returning Japanese nationals, the abolition of pre-departure PCR inspections, and the resumption of visa waiver measures.
Regarding the recent increase in the number of infected people and the situation in which the timing of the start of nationwide travel support is not clear, he added, “This is not support for the travel industry, but only a trump card to revive the local economy. It would be a great disappointment if this is not implemented. Up to now, we have conducted various demonstration tours to prevent the spread of infection, and as a result, there have been no cases of infection. The situation after the Golden Week holidays has not led to any major outbreaks. It is extremely regrettable that the national travel support program is postponed, as it may give the impression that travel itself is directly linked to the spread of infection. If implemented, this will definitely help revitalize the region,” he said in a strong tone.
© Source travel watch