Consul General Yoshihiko Kamo’s Speech 

at the Japan Travel Show-case 

January 24, 2011

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honor and a privilege for me to be with you here today at this very exciting Japan Travel Showcase Seminar. I would like to thank the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) for inviting the Consulate General of Japan to this event. We at the Consulate are encouraged that JNTO is hosting this seminar in Hawaii which promotes tourism to Japan, for sending more American tourists to Japan is one of our important missions.

I would like to applaud the dedication and commitment of the local travel industry in attendance that has been working hard to promote Japanese tourism. I hope today’s seminar will serve as an opportunity for you to increase your understanding of tourism to Japan and encourage further efforts to enhance Japan related tourism products.

The Japanese Government's New Growth Strategy, approved by the Cabinet on June 2010, includes a goal to turn Japan into a tourism powerhouse. The Japanese Government has set a target of attracting 25 million foreign visitors a year by the year of 2020 and ultimately increasing the number of annual visitors to 30 million.

The Japanese local and national governments are very hopeful that by promoting international tourism through establishing sound relationships with foreign nations, Japan will be able to revitalize its economy, which faces the challenge of a declining birthrate coupled with an aging society. Moreover, they believe that the increase of foreign visitors will trigger economic growth in the local economies.

Japan is blessed with abundant tourism resources such as natural beauty, cultural heritage, and regional diversity. Japanese culture, both traditional and contemporary, attracts considerable interest from foreign tourists. This makes it more important for each region to develop independent initiatives to promote tourism.

Japan’s famous ski resort Niseko Town, located in the western part of Hokkaido, is known for its many visitors from Australia in recent years.  It’s well known that the natural beauty of Niseko, and the promotion of the abundant outdoor activities by Australian entrepreneurs who first moved to Niseko Town to do business played key roles in developing the foreign tourism that flows through Niseko Town throughout the year.

In this regard, we can see the promotion of timely products from the travel industry and the specific ideas presented from the speakers of this seminar will play a crucial role in promoting tourism to Japan.

Hawaii, a world-renowned tourist destination, attracts over seven million visitors per year, which is almost 5 times as large as its population. Although the total number of Japanese visitors to Hawaii have declined in recent years, one million two hundred thousand Japanese visit here Hawaii yearly. This is a testament to the efforts put forth by the local tourism industry, both private and public, to promote Hawaii to Japan as a premiere travel destination.

Although the number of Americans traveling abroad declined after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the numbers have rebounded to a record of 6.45 million in 2007 visiting overseas. Many Japanese-Americans from Hawaii travel to Japan with their families; however, the total number of travelers from Hawaii to Japan has remained steady at around 35,000 per year.  I believe the promotion of inbound tourism to Japan will expand a two-way exchange of tourists to-and-from Japan and Hawaii.

It is my sincere hope that today’s event will reinvigorate promotional activities to increase the volume of foreign tourist traffic to Japan and provide support to those who would like to visit Japan.

In closing, I would like to wish you all success in your future business endeavors.

Thank you very much.

(c) Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu
1742 Nuuanu Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96817 USA
Tel: 808-543-3111