TOKYO, 10 July 2018: The Philippines expects Japanese tourists arrivals, this year, to exceed 613,000, which would be an all-time record for this high-spend market, according to Department of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.
She recently led the Philippine Business Mission to Japan to conduct B2B sales discussions with tour operators in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
Puyat said Japan supplied 584,180 visitors to the country last year and has remained the fourth top market with a 9.14% improvement from 2016’s arrivals of 535,238.
The Tourism chief led a 108-strong delegation composed of 39 private sector companies and government agencies from travel agencies, hotels and resorts to meet with Japanese tour operators.
In addition, to the trade event in Tokyo the delegation visited Nagoya and Osaka during the three-day business mission.
The mission focused on tourism seminars on popular destinations in the Philippines, particularly beach resorts, food tourism and travel packages that include English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programmes.
Air connectivity was discussed with Japanese travel agencies who attended a mini-travel mart for business-to business-discussions and networking and a “Philippine experience zone” filled with interactive and experiential activities highlighting several of the country’s destinations.
“We would like to make the Philippines’ presence felt in the other prefectures of Japan. And this year, there is much to be thankful for including our stable growth momentum in Japanese tourist arrivals,” stressed Puyat.
For the first four months of the year, the Japanese market supplied 230,199 travellers, reflecting a 9.04% growth rate, placing it fourth in the country’s top source markets.
Skyscanner, an online booking platform, reported that the Philippines emerged number one in terms of having the highest number of flights searched during the one of the biggest holiday in Japan, growing by 107%.
Airlines such as Philippine Airlines and Jetstar are also set to expand and add flights from Manila and Clark to major cities in Japan.
As of April 2018, more than 2.1 million air seats on eight airlines were bookable for roundtrip flights from Manila, Clark and Cebu to major cities in Japan.
Regional airport upgrades are also expected to boost tourism and trade with increased international routes, including Japan.
The Mactan-Cebu International Airport terminal 2 was recently inaugurated. It will be followed by the new Bohol International Airport, due to open in August.
Under the National Tourism Development Plan, 2016-2022, the DOT is targeting to increase visitor arrivals from Japan to 1.37 million by 2022 and 613,513 by the end of this year.
Tourism Promotions Board, the DOT’s marketing arm, is set to participate in trade and consumer fairs such as the Japan Association of Travel Agents Tourism Expo, the Hokkaido Overseas Travel Fair, the Sakai ASEAN Week, and the Okinawa Travel Fiesta.
