Japan Steps Up Efforts to Draw Foreign Tourists Back

Japan has embarked on an all-out public relations drive to reassure potential tourists that the country is now safe again to visit, after March’s devastating earthquake and tsunami caused severe damage to many of Japan’s social infrastructure – including a radiation leak at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The Japanese National Tourism Organisation recently posted the radiation levels for downtown Tokyo on its website, which the organisation claimed to be lower than in other popular tourist destinations such as New York, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Japan has embarked on an all-out public relations drive to reassure potential tourists that the country is now safe again to visit, after March’s devastating earthquake and tsunami caused severe damage to many of Japan’s social infrastructure – including a radiation leak at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The Japanese National Tourism Organisation recently posted the radiation levels for downtown Tokyo on its website, which the organisation claimed to be lower than in other popular tourist destinations such as New York, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The organisation has even recruited popular artiste Lady Gaga to become an ambassador for Japanese tourism. The musical phenomenon behind such hits as “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance” has been actively promoting Japanese tourism at recent press conferences and has gone to Japan on numerous occasions to perform her hit songs.

Watch Lady Gaga and the US Ambassador to Japan in a press conference with Japan’s tourism agency commissioner:

According to the Los Angeles Times, Japan frequently reports some of its highest tourist numbers during the summer months of July and August. Already, Japan’s $16-billion foreign tourism industry has taken a massive hit during its spring tourism season as a result of the March disasters.

Since the disaster, the government-run tourism organization has organized trips to Japan for international travel agents and travel writers, persuaded hotels in Tokyo to offer discounts to visitors and posted information online — including video posts by celebrities and radiation levels — to show that most of the country is safe to receive visitors.

[quote]”We’ve been focusing our efforts on showing people that Japan is safe for travel and that it’s business as usual in Tokyo and most other major cities,” said Evan Miller, a spokesman for the tourism organization. “It’s fine to come here.”[/quote]

Their efforts appear to be working. According to a recent survey by hotels.com, 86 percent of respondents surveyed indicated that they would consider a trip to Japan within the next year.

[quote]Mr. Hideki Yokoyama, Senior Director, Tourism Division, Bureau of Industrial and Labour Affairs of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, said in a press release: “I am very encouraged that so many people in the Hotels.com survey indicated that they are willing to travel to Japan. I hope that everyone can visit Japan and experience the best of Tokyo’s fantastic hospitality, which never changes. Moreover, I would like everyone to see that the whole of Japan is working together for a rapid recovery. Please feel free to visit Japan now or in the near future.”[/quote]