Okinawa, Japan’s most southern island, is now embarked into an active promotion towards overseas markets. During ITB Berlin, Koji Niimoto, in charge of the MICE Marketing section, explained why and how Okinawa looks beyond its traditional markets.
TravelDailyNews : What are the main incoming markets for Okinawa?
Koji Niimoto : In 2013, Okinawa received 5.94 million of travellers of which 5.54 million are domestic travellers. Some 400,000 travellers are coming outside Japan, which is in fact a tiny portion of our tourism market, approximately around 6%. This explains why we now want to increase the share of international travellers.
TDN : Where do your international travellers come from? Which markets do you in priority target ?
Koji Niimoto : China is the largest international market with close to 59,000 arrivals in 2013. We however see a decrease in Chinese arrivals due to political tensions between Japan and China. China is followed by Hong Kong with 56,200 arrivals last year and then Taiwan with 49,400 arrivals and South Korea with 45,100 arrivals. Outside Northern Asia, the largest overseas market is the United States, however with only 6,600 arrivals in 2013…As we see a decrease in China, we want to boost arrivals from other markets. Southeast Asia is a new priority, especially with the relaxation of entry conditions for many ASEAN countries. We also see Europe as an important market to look at as there is a genuine interest for Japan and for beach tourism.
TDN : What is the image that you want to sell to Europe?
Koji Niimoto : People in Europe likes to come to Asia for beaches and resorts. And of course, Okinawa offers all of this linked to the exotic fact that this is Japan. We are keen to communicate with Europeans over the fact that Okinawa is the tropical side of Japan. Plus, as I already said, the great interest that Europeans show for Japanese culture makes Okinawa an interesting destination as we preserve a very specific culture, different from the rest of the country.
TDN : Is it not more difficult to promote Okinawa as a seaside destination to Southeast Asians?
Koji Niimoto : It is more challenging for example for the Thais as they also have Phuket. However, we promote ourselves as a new destination and of course a great place for shopping, an important selling point for Asians! We anyway see great potential out of Malaysia and Thailand as they now benefit from a liberal visa policy to come into Japan. We already get some charter flights out of Singapore or Thailand and we now try to lure a low cost airline or a regular carrier to serve Okinawa from Southeast Asia. I think that AirAsia X would be a great addition for us.
TDN : Is air connectivity indeed not a major problem?
Koji Niimoto : Yes and no as we already have good connections via Taiwan or Hong Kong. If they are more low cost flights out of Southeast Asia to Taipei and then a low cost connection to Okinawa out of Taiwan, we would already have affordable fares for Southeast Asians. Before we get a non-stop connection to Southeast Asia.
Photo caption (left) : Koji Niimoto
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
