Tourism Expo Japan 2022, one of the world’s largest travel events, is being held at Tokyo Big Sight (Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo) for four days from September 22 to 25.
The opening ceremony was attended by Mr. Kenichiro Yamanishi, Chairman of JATA (Japan Association of Travel Agents), Mr. Hiroyuki Takahashi, Chairman of JATA (Japan Association of Travel Agents), Mr. Satoshi Seino, President of JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organization), Mr. Hiroo Ishii, Deputy Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Shoji Nishida, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Shoichi Wada, Director General of the Japan Tourism Agency, Mr. Ion Birk, Director General of the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) Supporting Member Department, and other representatives of the organizer, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), and others. Mr. Koichi Wada, Director General of the Japan Tourism Agency, and Mr. Ion Birk, Director General of the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) Supporting Member Division, were also in attendance to celebrate the opening of the Tokyo event, the first time in four years.
Kenichiro Yamanishi, Chairman of the Japan Tourism Organization (JTA), who spoke on behalf of the organizers, explained the situation surrounding inbound tourism: “I have heard that adjustments are being made to remove the cap on the number of inbound travelers, to exempt short-stay visas, and to lift the ban on the acceptance of individual travelers at an early stage after October. The holding of Tourism Expo Japan at such an opportune time will be a great opportunity for us to raise the smoke for stimulating tourism demand and to serve as a foothold for the revival of the tourism industry by communicating from Tokyo to the world. This is an excellent opportunity for us to do so,” he said.
At the subsequent organizer’s press conference, JATA Chairman Hiroyuki Takahashi, who is also the chairman of the Tourism EXPO Japan 2022 Organizing Committee, took the stage and commented on this year’s event, “We are very happy to be able to switch over the Corona disaster and hold the event in a full-scale realistic format after four years. At this juncture, the prospect of further waterfront relaxation, such as nationwide travel support, lifting of the ban on acceptance of individual travel, and exemption of short-stay visas, has been reported, making this year’s Tourism Expo Japan different and very significant. We hope that this year’s Tourism Expo Japan will be an opportunity for Japan’s tourism industry to make a fresh start,” he commented, explaining the outline of the event.
As for the scale of the event, 150,000 visitors are expected over the four-day period, with 1,215 exhibiting booths (554 domestic, 379 overseas, and 282 other) from 47 prefectures in Japan and 78 countries and regions around the world, and 1018 companies in total participating. In addition, 626 sellers are participating in the business meetings, with 554 buyers and 5114 business sessions.
© Source travel watch