On November 21, JATA (Japan Association of Travel Agents) held a press conference at its headquarters in Kasumigaseki, announcing a group travel sales contest in cooperation with the Hawaii Visitors Bureau and Meet Hawai’i (HVCB: Hawai’i Visitors & Convention Bureau).
The top 30 group lodging rooms during the period will be evaluated, and the top 30 will be recognized as “Hawaii Group Experts” and awarded with the right to participate in a rewarding inspection tour.
According to a November 20 announcement by JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organization), the number of outbound Japanese will be 1,148,400 in the year ending October 2024, only 69% (1,663,474) of the 2019 level. By destination, Hawaii is in mid-recovery, at 44.5% of the 2019 level, with the aim of expanding the outbound market from Japan to Hawaii. The slow recovery in the Hawaii market is due to the weak yen and cooling individual demand, but MICE and incentive tours are less susceptible to these factors, and the influence of families visiting Hawaii will result in family travel for that household.
The point of this contest is that it is an award for individuals, not for travel agencies, and JATA expects that there will be ample opportunities to win prizes even if you are not a major travel agency. The contest is open to salespeople with 10 years or less of group sales experience who belong to JATA member travel agencies, and the entry period is from November 21 to January 31, 2025.
The eligible travel contract is from April 1 to November 30, 2025, and the eligible departure period is from June 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026 (one year and seven months), which is quite long.
Points are quantified by the number of rooms x number of nights x number of group trips earned by the person in charge during the period, for example,
1st group: 50 rooms x 3 nights 5 days, then 1 x 50 x 3 = 150 points
Second group: If 40 rooms x 4 nights 6 days, 2 x 40 x 4 = 320 points
The top 30 point winners as of November 2025 (maximum 5 winners per company) will be selected, and the awards will be presented in December.
Before being selected, the applicant must have passed the Hawaii Specialist Certification Test, supervised by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, at the beginner level or higher.
Masahiko Inada, General Manager of JATA’s Overseas Travel Promotion Department, said that the contest also aims to increase the number of sales representatives who are familiar with Hawaii. During the three years of the Corona disaster, there was a period when travel products could not be created, and there is a sense of crisis,” he said, “There is a skin-deep feeling that the number of sales representatives who are well versed in the industry is decreasing, not only because people entered the industry during the period when school and company trips could not be conducted, but also because their know-how has been lost due to reassignment, and they have no experience in operations in the first place. He expresses a sense of crisis.
Since there is no disadvantage to entry itself, Mr. Inada said, “It would be good enough if all group travel sales representatives of 10 years or less entered the program. I wonder how many more sales representatives will become aware of the importance of selling Hawaii. I would be happy if we could raise awareness of this issue,” he said, adding that he had high hopes for the contest.
© Source travel watch
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