AUSTRALIA. Japanese visitors to Australia steadily increased at the end of last year reports the Australian Tourist Commission (ATC).
ATC managing director Ken Boundy said: “The latest figures indicate that the number of Japanese visitors has steadily rebounded in recent months, bringing the total number of visitors to Australia to 628,000 in 2003. While this represented a -6% drop in visitor numbers – Australia has actually increased its share of the Japan outbound travel market.
“Japan continues to be a major source of international tourists to Australia, with Japanese tourists contributing around A$900 million (US$693.3) to the Australian economy each year.”
The Australian Tourist Commission (ATC) is leading a delegation of Australian tourism businesses to Japan this week to grow Australia’s share of this outbound travel market.
Boundy said: “Trade visits such as the Japan Australia Mission (JAM) are vital for raising awareness and knowledge of Australian tourism products and securing new business.”
The JAM delegation, which includes 53 Australian tourism businesses, will be presenting Australian travel products and services to 60 key Japanese travel buyers during the visit to Atami in Japan.
Boundy said changes had been made to the format of JAM this year to concentrate industry efforts to where the most impact could be made.
“Last year the JAM delegation visited four cities in Japan. However, the revised approach for this year’s event brings together the key players in one location to provide greater opportunities for face-to-face business networking.
“The new approach is better suited to the Japanese approach to business and should provide Australian participants with more in-depth engagement with the key influencers in the market.”
The Tourism Forecasting Council predicts that tourist numbers from Japan to Australia will increase to 684,000 visitors in 2004 and reach 928,000 by 2012.
