On January 18, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to strengthen cooperation for the development of mutual travel between Japan and Thailand.
On the same day, a signing ceremony was held at a hotel in Tokyo, attended by Mr. Yuttasak Supasorn, President of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and Mr. Satoshi Seino, President of the Japan National Tourism Organization, and witnessed by Mr. Sintong Rahpisetpan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Thailand to Japan, and Mr. Mitsuaki Hoshino, Director General of International Tourism, Japan Tourism Organization.
Representing the travel industry, Tadasu Shimura, President of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), was the guest of honor. Also in attendance were Yoko Terai, Director of the East Asia Market Promotion Office, Japan Tourism Agency; Akira Ninagawa, Executive Director, and Masaki Oïda, Director of the Overseas Promotion Department, from JNTO; and Chuwit Siriwechakul, Director General, East Asia Bureau, and the heads of the Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka offices, from TAT, for a total of 12 people.
At the beginning of the ceremony, H.E. Dr. Sintong Rahpisetpan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Thailand to Japan, delivered a speech on behalf of the Thai government, saying, “It is a great pleasure for me to participate in the signing ceremony of the letter of intent to promote tourism in both countries.
In 2022, Japan and Thailand celebrated the 135th anniversary of Japan-Thailand amity as modern nations, and it is still fresh in our minds. “Our two countries have developed exchanges in all areas, including politics, economy, society, culture, and tourism, and are now in a comprehensive and strategic partnership. For almost three years since the spread of the new coronavirus, Japan and Thailand, as well as the rest of the world, have been severely affected, making it difficult for people to come and go freely. Despite this, the efforts of both countries did not cease,” he said, recounting the ties between Japan and Thailand.
In addition, with the progress of vaccination against the new coronas around the world, more efficient infection control measures, and the gradual easing of travel restrictions and waterfront measures in Japan and Thailand, the letter of intent “will strengthen the cooperative relationship between the two countries and contribute to our mutual national interests. The letter of intent will provide an important framework to support and revitalize the recovery of the tourism industry, which is a major source of income for both countries,” he said.
The background of the Letter of Intent signed today is two goals from the inbound and outbound aspects: first, to maintain the “two-way tourism” relationship between Thailand and Japan within ASEAN in terms of the number of travelers in 2019, and second, to strive to maintain this balance in the post-Corona period. As the number of visitors in 2019 shows that Thailand and Japan have a “two-way tourism” relationship within ASEAN, efforts should be made to maintain this balance in the post-Corona period as well.
Second, in order to encourage two-way tourism, the two parties will consider increasing opportunities for mutual promotion (e.g., chartering) that can revitalize Japan’s regional airports. This agreement will encourage the launch of joint projects that take these considerations into account.
Mr. Mitsuaki Hoshino, Director General of the International Tourism Department of the Japan Tourism Agency, noted that the new Corona, which has dealt a major blow, continues to be in front of us, but he also pointed out that “the global trend is steering in the direction of how we can coexist with the Corona. He also pointed out that “the global trend is toward how we can coexist with Corona. How can we return to the pre-Corona economic level while ensuring safety and security? Japan will ease its waterfront measures from October 2022, and full-scale tourism will resume. The number of tourists from abroad is gradually increasing.
In November of the same year, “JNTO held a ‘Japan-Thailand Tourism Seminar’ in Bangkok, and Prime Minister Kishida made a great effort to promote and introduce the attractiveness of Japanese tourism to the people of Thailand. He also recognized that “the cooperative relationship between Japan and Thailand is very important.
Mr. Hoshino also noted that this LOI will be positioned as one of the cooperative activities in the “Five-Year Japan-Thailand Strategic Economic Partnership Plan,” which was compiled around the time of the seminar, and expressed his hope that the LOI will be very important in helping Asia’s tourism recovery, which has lagged behind other countries, and in making Japan and Thailand the world’s leading countries in tourism. The plan is also very important for Japan and Thailand to take the lead in global tourism,” he said.
In 2023, Japan will launch a new “tourism restart project,” and he appealed, “We are looking forward to welcoming many visitors to Japan by preparing special experiences that take advantage of the charms of nature.
The guest of honor, JATA President Tadasu Shimura, expressed his enthusiasm, “As a promoter of outbound travel from Japan, I have great expectations for an early revival of mutual exchange between Japan and Thailand, and JATA will work closely with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to promote food, activities and nature in Thailand to encourage more Japanese people to visit the country. JATA will work closely with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to promote the food, activities, and nature of Thailand to encourage more Japanese to visit the country.
According to Mr. Shimura, the top three reasons for Japanese visitors to Thailand are Thai food, ancient ruins, and natural beach resorts, which “are very easy for Japanese travel agencies to understand and have clear appeal points,” he said.
In addition, Thailand has an abundance of hotels and convention facilities for corporations, and Shimura believes that “demand will recover once air travel recovers from the decline in flights. The reason for the slowdown in Japanese travel to Thailand is “partly due to the weak yen and high prices and fuel oil, but it is also undeniable that the Japanese are concerned about their surroundings, wondering what they will do if they become infected and how they will be perceived by others,” he said. However, “there is definitely a deep-seated desire for overseas travel, and we hope to improve the mindset of consumers through events like this one.
After signing the letter of intent, Mr. Yuttasak Supasorn, President of TAT, commented: “We have established cooperative relations with local governments and tourism promotion organizations throughout Japan, including Hokkaido, Akita, Tochigi, Wakayama, and Sendai. We have been cooperating with local governments and tourism promotion organizations throughout Japan, including Hokkaido, Akita, Tochigi, Wakayama, and Sendai, to promote mutual tourism exchange. (Omitted) We are willing to cooperate to expand air travel under the growing travel demand between our two countries. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has set a target of 20 million passengers visiting Thailand from abroad in 2023. We would like to welcome approximately 1 million of them from Japan (approximately 60% of the total number of visitors in 2019).
He also mentioned “5 F’s” as keywords for sharing various information and know-how to promote tourism between Japan and Thailand in the future. He also mentioned the “5 F’s”: Food, Film, Fashion, Muay Thai (Fighting), and Festivals and Events (Festivals). He said, “These ‘soft powers’ are the areas that will create new travel aspirations and make our two countries a world leader.
JNTO President Satoshi Seino then commented, “Thailand was one of the first countries to resume full-scale acceptance of foreign tourists in November 2021. Meanwhile in Japan, individual tourism resumed in October 2022. the number of visitors to Japan from Thailand in December was about 50% of the pre-Corona level (compared to the same month in 2019), showing a steady recovery. And we are confident that it will grow further in the future,” he said.
While communicating Japan’s snow, flowers, hot springs, and other undiscovered attractions that Thai people like, “It is very important to strengthen the central air route in order to attract interest in areas outside the so-called golden route, such as Osaka and Kyoto from Tokyo,” and cooperation with Thai airline companies and Japan’s regional airports is a challenge. He said that cooperation with Thai airlines and Japan’s regional airports is an issue to be addressed.
© Source travel watch
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.