Japan National Tourism Organization to Resume Promotional Activities

Japan National Tourism Organization to Resume Promotional Activities

As the situations in Japan have been assessed by various governments and international authorities as stable, Tadatoshi Mamiya, president of the Japan National Tourism Organization, announced that JNTO will resume promoting tourism to Japan, just over a month after the earthquake and tsunami hit the coast of the Tohoku region in Japan.

“We are very grateful for the generous contributions and support that we have received from all over the world,” said Mamiya. “The support has been very important to us, and the Japanese people are determined to put all our efforts into recovery actions, in response to the outpouring of encouragement and solidarity that we have received from the global community.

“The Japan National Tourism Organization will support the rebuilding efforts by continuing to pursue our mission to positively promote Japan as a vibrant, beautiful destination, brimming with unique cultural attractions, exciting cities, and friendly people,” Mamiya said. “We will continue to distribute the latest detailed and accurate information about travel to Japan, as well as to actively develop our promotional activities in order to encourage many people to visit Japan. To this end, your support and cooperation are indispensable.

“Most of Japan’s regions were unaffected by the earthquake, and we invite you to see the present condition of Japan for yourselves. We invite the world’s media and tourism professionals to visit Japan, and to observe first-hand how Japan is still a unique and attractive travel destination.”

In related news, convention facilities and hotels in Tokyo have not been damaged in any way due to the massive earthquake that hit the northeastern areas of Japan, and are open for business as usual. Public transportation service providers, shopping facilities, restaurants, corporations and schools are also carrying in the same way as always. Exhibitions and international conferences in Tokyo will generally be held as planned from May onwards.

Partly because of the impact of the rolling black-outs, exhibitions planned from March to early April inevitably had to be canceled. However, most events from mid-April are planned to be held as scheduled. Some international conferences were canceled or postponed, or subjected to a change of venue, due to reductions in the number of overseas participants arising from travel advisories and reductions in scheduled flights. However, most conferences are planned to be held from the early summer.