Comment: It could not have been worse for Japan

Japan marked the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami which struck the north-eastern coast, leaving 19,000 dead on Sunday.

James Mundy of Japanese specialist, InsideJapan Tours recounts the operator’s experience.

It is hard to believe that it is a  year since the tragic tsunami hit the Tohoku region of Japan. In February 2011, Japan was gearing up for its biggest year in terms of tourism and the peak ‘cherry blossom season’ of late March and April promised to be busier than ever.  Just a few weeks later, the rural Tohoku region was hit by the biggest earthquake in recorded history followed by a huge tsunami devastating the region killing an estimated 19000 people and triggering the Fukushima nuclear crisis. Things could not have been worse for Japan or for a company that specialises in travel to Japan.

Bristol based InsideJapan Tours’ staff have all lived, worked and travelled in Japan and are passionate about their specialist destination. InsideJapan Tours began a campaign to inform customers, agents and fellow travel trade about Japan and continued to send people (albeit in fewer numbers) to the ‘land of the rising sun’, fully confident that their health and enjoyment of the country would not be threatened in anyway.

The tsunami affected more than the Tohoku region in terms of tourism. With fewer people travelling, many small traditional guest houses hundreds of miles away were forced to close with no income to support them. It was a great shame that many of these traditional places run by families for hundreds of years, had to close their doors due to lack of tourism which was based largely on misinformation. InsideJapan were keen to educate the industry in the west.

InsideJapan began their ‘Only One Japan’ campaign, which focused the staff on the reasons why the company began twelve years ago. The majority of the country remained beautiful, the culture is still unique and the people more wonderful than ever and nothing like Japan could be experienced anywhere else in the world. InsideJapan’s staff in Japan and returning customers actively posted news and reviews on the company blog, and updates on social media networks to spread the news.

Friends and suppliers in Japan were also keen to discount accommodation in the country in order to encourage more tourism to the country.

With agents being the frontline and considered travel experts by many consumers, it was important to educate the agents about the country. Japanese specialists set up a number of training nights in association with organisations such as the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) and Orion Cruises to take Japan to the agents.

Japan’s tourism is still suffering, but according to official figures from JNTO, British tourism figures to Japan have only dipped by around 4 per cent. InsideJapan Tour’s figures are very healthy indeed with February being the best sales month in company history.

At the same time, InsideJapan continue to raise awareness of the ongoing plight of people in the Tohoku region and having raised more the £25000 for tsunami charities continue to offer their customers a chance to donate money or volunteer in the tsunami affected communities.

The outlook for inbound tourism to Japan is very encouraging and InsideJapan are confident that travellers will not be disappointed. There is only one Japan.