TOURISM Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat is probably hoping President Duterte will be her Daruma doll, or lucky charm, as they both meet with leaders of the travel industry today, May 29, in a bid to arrest the stagnating inbound tourist flow from Japan.
The meeting will be held at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo as a parallel event to the Philippine Business Mission (PBM) to Japan 2019, according to a news statement from the Department of Tourism (DOT).
Arrivals from Japan rose by 8.15 percent to 631,801 in 2018. This was slower, however, than the 9.14-percent increase in Japanese tourists in 2017.
In the first quarter of 2019, Japanese tourists dropped by almost 2 percent to 177,769, a turnaround from the 8.98-percent growth in the same period in 2018.
Despite its tepid arrivals of late, Japan continues to be among the country’s top fourth source market for tourists for the past 10 years.
Still, the DOT projects a 27-percent increase in Japanese tourists this year, reaching some 800,000 visitors, with the increased air connectivity between both countries, and a “more focused marketing strategy targeting the Japanese women’s travel market.” (See, “DOT sees 27% surge in Japanese tourists in 2019,” in the BusinessMirror, Feb. 1, 2019.)
Last June, the DOT introduced its Philippine Tourism Fun Ambassadors, Japanese fashion model Loveli, and actress and Miss Universe-Japan 2014 Hiro Nishiuchi, as part of its program targeting Japanese women travelers. (See,“PHL seeks to attract more Japan women travelers,” in the BusinessMirror, July 1, 2018.)
Meanwhile, the PBM is an institutional program that has been held annually in Japan for the past 13 years and is organized by DOT and the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the DOT’s marketing arm.
This major travel trade event includes Philippine travel seminars for Japanese agents, business-to-business meetings between Philippine sellers and Japanese buyers and a Philippine Reception to culminate the activities.