Spending by Japanese visitors to the United States fell 20 percent last year to about $11 billion, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. At the same time, spending by Americans in Japan fell 62 percent to $3.4 billion. U.S., Japan delegations
seek tourism boostStar-Bulletin Staff
In that light, a U.S. Commerce official said he wants to encourage U.S. business travelers to take an extra long trip when they go to Japan. After all, U.S. travel to Japan is mostly for business, said Doug Baker, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of commerce.
Baker spoke yesterday at a press conference at Ko Olina during a two-day joint U.S.-Japan diplomatic effort to improve travel. During the so-called "working group" meeting at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort, a delegation of 55 U.S. and Japanese tourism leaders discussed a three-year plan to improve travel between the United States and Japan.
The meeting was ushered by the April 19 signing of a U.S. Japan Tourism Export Expansion initiative, which calls for a recovery of tourism from its post-Sept. 11 plunge. A ministerial meeting will be held later this year in Tokyo.
Cooperative tourism meetings between the two countries have not occurred since 1995, when Congress abolished the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration, Baker said.
"This is a first step to improving the balance of trade for each country by increasing visitation levels," Baker said.
Yesterday's meeting focused on marketing promotions, product development, research and information, public relations, security and education.
During the press conference, a Japan tourism official downplayed concerns that Hawaii is losing Japanese tourist market share to China. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, China is seen as a controlled, safe place to visit.
Plus, this year marks the 30th anniversary of normalized diplomatic relations between Japan and China, said Satoru Kanazawa, director-general of the tourism department, a policy bureau of the Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The bottom line is that the Japanese still want to visit Hawaii, and China isn't necessarily taking visitors away, Kanazawa said.
"Peace is the best passport," Kanazawa said. "By promoting peace, we can promote tourism."
Hawaii fell from fourth place to fifth among overseas destinations visited by Japanese travelers this summer, according to a recent survey by JTB Corp., Japan's biggest travel agency.
This year, an average of 113,450 Japanese visitors have come to Hawaii each month, a considerable drop from 179,300 in 1997, Hawaii's best year for Japanese arrivals.