TOURISM MISSION TO JAPAN

Executives want good news to reach Japanese

CHATRUDEE THEPARAT

Tokyo _ Tourism executives here say the Thai government needs to provide more information on safety and security measures to restore the confidence of Japanese travellers and the growing number of retirees looking for long stays in Thailand.

Safety remained a major concern among Japanese tourists and operators, said Masayoshi Yoshida, chief executive officer of A&A Inc and a Japanese representative of Royal Orchid Holidays Co, the tourism arm of Thai Airways International.

''The news reports and broadcasts by Japanese media about Thailand were mostly about the coup during the past several months. That's such a terrifying and sensitive issue for Japanese tourists,'' said Mr Yoshida, one of the 16 tourism operators who met yesterday with Tourism Sports Minister Suvit Yodmani.

Mr Suvit is in Tokyo as part of a four-day mission led by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to promote tourism, trade and investment, and celebrate the 120th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations.

''On top of that, reports on the New Year bombings in Bangkok and the ongoing unrest in the restive South have aggravated their confidence,'' Mr Yoshida said.

Last year, 1.3 million Japanese tourists arrived in Thailand, up 9.6% from the previous year.

Japanese operators urged Thai authorities to provide information on safety measures and take steps to make ''more positive reports'' to rebuild tourist confidence, including developments regarding the general election scheduled by the end of the year.

According to Mr Yoshida, the Japanese operators are also encouraging the Thai government and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to jointly invest in more advertising and public relations activities to deliver positive messages about Thailand to Japanese tourists.

Ryuji Funayama, board chairman of JTB Ltd, Japan's largest tour operator, has also urged the Thai government to speed up addressing safety concerns in order to convince more Japanese tourists, particularly among the retirees whose number is expected to top seven million over the next three years, to visit Thailand.''Those retirees are looking for long-stay services in many countries such as Chiang Mai of Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines,'' he said. ''Most of them, despite being retired, are still strong both physically and financially. But what they are concerned about the most is safety.''

Mr Funayama also urged Thai authorities to clearly present existing tourism spots on how they are unique and distinct from other countries.

Hiromichi Itaya, executive vice president of the Japan National Tourist Organisation (JNTO), said the Thai-Japanese Tourism Promotion for 2007 scheme was expected to draw more tourists among the two countries.

Bangkok Post
Tuesday April 03, 2007