Japan Market Update - October 2003 Edition

Aloha ,

This month's update is coming direct from Yokohama, Japan. I am here attending the JATA World Tourism Congress and International Trade Fair. The exhibit had over 740 booths, with 94 countries represented. Hawaii has a good contingent of 40 companies and nearly 100 people attending. This event indicates continued worldwide interest in the lucrative Japanese market--and competitive nature to get more of it...especially now. The event is also a big signal of the "demand recovery" in the Japanese outbound travel market. We can feel the optimism at the show.

Most Hawaii hotels around the show are discussing that October through New Year's looks really positive for Hawaii. With the yen strengthening to just around 110, and with the ongoing, aggressive promotion in the Japan market for Hawaii, it's now getting tougher to find seats on many flights to Hawaii over the next three months, and especially over the New Year's holiday.

If you are interested in doing any extended year-end or third quarter advertising or marketing programs to further reach the Japanese market, PacRim has some selected media programs still available and can help you! But, for many Japanese media choices, deadlines are now here for late fall and year end.

If you need some help, just call me or any of the staff for final year end communication programs or for your overall 2004 planning needs.

Best Regards,

P.S. Joy's phone is 949-4592 x 811. Toby Tamaye is getting married tomorrow (!), so contacting Joy, Iris, or Serena will be the best and quickest way while he is out and on a short vacation. I return next week in time for the RMH Annual Awards Conference in Honolulu. If you are able to attend the conference, please come early or send a representative from your company to hear Murray Raphel, speaking on "Tough Selling for Tough Times", just before the Awards lunch at 11:00 AM. PacRim will have a table at the mini-trade show from 7:00 AM, and we are all looking forward to saying Hi! if you can attend. We will have the NEW, "hot off the press" 2004 Japan and US holiday calendars for you at the event! Hope to see you or your Hawaii representative.

*Japan Market News
-----Japanese arrivals in September reach 2002 numbers
-----Yen vs. dollar rate hits a three year high
-----FIT travel market continues to grow stronger
-----Visitors do less island hopping this summer
-----JAL and ANA receive government loans
-----Japan airlines moves to the web to promote lower fares
-----Charter flights will boost winter travel this year
-----Japan's economic growth rate increases
-----Tokyo's bars hit the streets
-----Rakuten makes a landmark deal for online travel
-----Hawaii website tops google Japan
*Culture Corner
*Media of the Month
*Upcoming Magazine Deadlines
*Important Dates

JAPANESE ARRIVALS IN SEPTEMBER REACH 2002 NUMBERS

The last two weeks of September proved to be a monumental week for Japanese tourism in Hawaii. Arrivals for the period of September 16 to September 29 on flights from Japan equaled the number of arrivals from the previous year. 64,520 passengers arrived to Hawaii during these two weeks, while 64,197 passengers came in Hawaii during the same period last year. (DBEDT 9/30/03)Back to top

YEN VS. DOLLAR RATE HITS A THREE YEAR HIGH

Another great boost for Japanese tourism in Hawaii is the strongest yen rate against the dollar in three years. On September 29, the dollar sank to 110.75 yen. A stronger yen allows Japanese tourists to have more buying power when traveling to Hawaii. It also increases the amount of Japanese who are thinking of traveling to Hawaii. (Honolulu Advertiser 9/23/03)Back to top

FIT TRAVEL MARKET CONTINUES TO GROW STRONGER

The FIT (free independent traveler) market is one of the fastest growing market segments today. In the month of August, 34,404 visitors were counted as FIT visitors, a 30% increase over last August. On the other hand, the group tour market continues to slide as 45,712 visitors in August were on group tours, a 17% decrease from 2002. (DBEDT 9/30/03)Back to top

VISITORS DO LESS ISLAND HOPPING THIS SUMMER

This summer's trend was that more visitors stayed on only one island, rather than visit multiple islands. Visitors who came only to Oahu in August for their vacation posted a net gain over last year's numbers in the same period. The Neighbor islands also experienced the same travel pattern with many visitors choosing only one island for their vacation. (DBEDT 9/30/03)Back to top

JAL AND ANA RECEIVE GOVERNMENT LOANS

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, the two largest carriers in Japan, are getting government loans to let them meet bond obligations without having to borrow money at a higher interest rate in the commercial market. JAL will receive 70 billion yen in assistance, while ANA will receive 15 billion yen. (Pacific Business News 9/30/03)Back to top

JAPAN AIRLINES MOVES TO THE WEB TO PROMOTE LOWER FARES

Following the trend of other major air carriers, JAL will begin offering lower fares for off-peak travel to its destinations, including Hawaii. The program, called "Super WebGoku", will launch this October. (Travel Vision News 9/28/03)Back to top

CHARTER FLIGHTS WILL BOOST WINTER TRAVEL THIS YEAR

A mixture of new charter flights from Japan regional airports should boost Japanese travel to Hawaii this winter. Japan Airlines will begin flying 26 charter flights from regional airports beginning in November and ending in March (12 flights will be from Sapporo, 10 from Sendai, and 4 from Niigata). ANA also plans to run charter flights in the near future as well. (Honolulu Star Bulletin 9/18/03)Back to top

JAPAN'S ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE INCREASES

The Japanese economy grew faster than the US economy in April, May, and June this year. Japan's gross domestic product grew 1 percent during these months, or an annual growth speed of 3.9%. Originally, economists predicted only a 2.3% annual growth speed. The largest growth segment was capital spending by businesses. (Honolulu Star Bulletin 9/10/03)Back to top

TOKYO'S BARS HIT THE STREETS

The number of street bars in Tokyo is growing at a steady rate due to the demand of young groups who have found that sitting outside and watching trendy urban crowds pass by add a new dimension while enjoying a drink. Many restaurants have opened their doors and are literally spilling onto the street. In addition, overseas travelers who are interested in discovering different street cultures are also enjoying this pastime. (Nikkei Weekly 9/15/03)Back to top

RAKUTEN MAKES A LANDMARK DEAL FOR ONLINE TRAVEL

Internet shopping provider Rakuten Inc. has completed a deal to buy the website Mytrip Net Co., which runs the largest online hotel reservation site in Japan. Mytrip's site booked over 800,000 nights in July 2003, easily making it the #1 website in Japan for hotel bookings. According to the Electronic Commerce Promotion Council of Japan, the online travel market is expected to grow by 20 times, from 120 billion in 2001 to 2.4 trillion by 2006. (Nikkei Weekly 9/15/03)Back to top

HAWAII WEBSITE TOPS GOOGLE JAPAN

Hawaii-Arukikata.com, a Japanese website for visitors to Hawaii, is currently ranked as the top website for Hawaii travel by Google Japan. During the month of August, the site recorded 4.8 million page views, and has nearly 190,000 unique users per month. (Pacific Business News 9/15/03)Back to top

SPORTS DAY

The second Monday of October is Taiiku no Hi, or Sports Day, a national holiday to foster healthy minds and bodies through physical activity. It was established to commemorate the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, which were held from October 10 to 24. It was designated a national holiday two years later in 1966. Until 1999 the holiday was on October 10, but beginning in 2000 it has been changed to the second Monday of the month.

Why were the 1964 Games held in October, which is quite late for the Summer Games? The biggest reason was the weather. It had to be just right to accommodate athletes from both warm countries and cold countries. So the organizers of the Tokyo Games asked meteorologists when would be the best time to hold an outdoor sports event. The answer was mid-October, since by then, the typhoons stop coming, and the skies turn a deep, clear blue.

At the Kyoiku no Mori Park in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, for instance, a lot of athletic events are held each year. Visitors can get a computer-aided check of their physical strength and receive health tips from counselors. A number of ball games are organized, and in the park's square kids can try out the trampoline or go horseback riding.
Source: jinjapan.org

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NOUVEAU - ALA MOANA CENTER SELECTION

If your business is in Ala Moana Center, we welcome you to take a closer look at Nouveau, a publication 100% devoted to Ala Moana Center. Written entirely in Japanese, this publication is hand-delivered to JTB customers at Narita airport.

The best Nouveau feature is the GUARANTEED EDITORIAL equal to the size of advertisement purchased! Please call us for a free copy of the magazine, or click here for more information.It is not too late to promote your business!

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Create interest in your product/service now for 2004!! Want to be a part of these books? Click here for our Media Request Form or us.

Space Deadlines:

Nouveau - Ala Moana Center Selection Winter - October 10, 2003
Aloha Express - February 2004 Quarterly - December 1, 2003
Chikyu no Arukikata - Family Guidebook - October 10, 2003
Chikyu no Arukikata - Las Vegas Resort February 2004 - November 3, 2003

Material Deadlines:

Nouveau - Ala Moana Center Selection Winter - November 10, 2003
Aloha Express - February 2004 Quarterly - December 15, 2003
Chikyu no Arukikata - Family Guidebook - October 24, 2003
Chikyu no Arukikata - Las Vegas Resort - December 5, 2003

It is not too late to call us (808-949-4592 or Toll Free 1-800-338-4502) to find out more about these upcoming media releases as we strive to find the best media available for you.

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10/13 Sports Day
11/3 Culture Day
11/24 Labor Thanksgiving Day
12/23 Emperor's Birthday
12/31 Ushering in the New Year *Most offices close December 28 - January 4, 2004

Click here to see entire year.

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