On June 4, JATA (Japan Association of Travel Agents) held the “Travel Safety Management Seminar 2024” for its member companies.
The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of “Travel Safety Day” (July 1), which has been promoted since 2014, and to raise awareness of travel safety and risk management. A total of 296 people participated in the event, which was held in a hybrid format of in-person and web-based events.
Mr. Koji Ikehata, Executive Director and Secretary General of JATA, took the stage and presented an overview of the “Travel Safety Day Week.” In conjunction with the “Travel Safety Day” every year, JATA conducts a mock drill in case of an emergency situation, which will be held from July 1 to 7 in 2024 (58 companies participated in 2023).
Kenichi Nonani, Director of the Domestic Travel Promotion Department, then explained the current status of the “Common Platform for the Tourism Industry” and how it would respond in the event of a disaster.
The common platform will begin operating in December 2023, and as of May 28, 2012, 6091 lodging businesses, 93 travel agencies, and 15 organizations including lodging associations, local governments, and DMOs are participating in the platform, which is equipped with functions to transmit sales information of lodging companies and consolidate information in the event of a disaster.
The system organizes approximately 1,300 items of information sharing at the time of a disaster, which until now had to be answered individually by lodging facilities to travel agencies and local governments. When an earthquake of intensity 5 or higher on the Japanese seismic intensity scale occurs, an automatic e-mail is sent to lodging facilities. In the case of the Noto Peninsula earthquake in 2024, e-mails were sent to facilities in four prefectures in the target area within about 13 minutes of the occurrence of the earthquake.
Travel agencies and local governments can view a list of responses. Although accommodations are free of charge, the registration rate for travel agency-contracted facilities is only about 80%. In addition, the participation rate for regular drills conducted every two to three months is 60%, and the response rate at the time of the Noto Peninsula earthquake was 40% (including facilities that were unable to respond due to communication conditions).
In response, Mr. Nonani said, “In addition to promoting the platform, we would like to improve the crisis management capabilities of the Japanese tourism industry as a whole.
In the latter half of the session, Mr. Takahito Sankaku, Director of the Overseas Japanese Nationals Safety Division, Consular Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, took the stage to speak on “Safety Measures in Light of Recent International Developments. He introduced the “Danger Information” on the Overseas Safety website and the “Tabiregi-Register” information distribution service.
Tabiregi-Register is a service that allows users to register their destinations for overseas travel and receive safety information from local embassies and consulates general via e-mail in Japanese. The service also provides warnings in the event of emergencies such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks.
Mr. Triangle explained, “Most recently, during the disturbances in New Caledonia, we contacted short-term residents via the TambiRegistry, but there were cases where it was difficult to contact them because their e-mail addresses were not registered or their Japanese cell phone numbers were not connected locally.
He added, “There are cases where travelers feel safe because they are on a package tour, but they get separated from their tour guide. He added, “Travelers themselves should have a concrete image of the risks involved in their destinations, given the diversification of travel itself, including stays on remote islands and other areas away from the center of the country, as well as experience-based tours.
The Overseas Japanese Nationals Safety Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (commonly known as Ryouan) also provides information on how to stay safe overseas on the “Ryouan Overseas Safety Channel” of the audio distribution service “Voicy”.
Mr. Yoshinori Ochi, JATA advisor and visiting professor at Toyo University’s School of International Tourism, concluded the session by introducing six key safety measures for travel agencies, including the “Recommendations for Travel Safety Management” edited by the Japan Tourism Agency.
© Source travel watch
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