WTTC chief upbeat after Japan visit
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The President & CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), David Scowsill has concluded a trip to Japan, where he held meetings with the government, airlines and other industry leaders to discuss how WTTC could help to kick-start the country’s tourism recovery.
Scowsill said that he plans is deliver a message to foreign governments that travel advisories need to more accurately reflect the status of the country in terms of safety and security, with Tokyo and vast swathes of Japan, including Hokkaido, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, all currently deemed safe to visit.
“The situation is clearly serious, with cancellations forcing hotels to cut costs and operate with skeleton staffing, airlines canceling flights and running low load factors, and restaurants struggling as Japanese consumers continue to cancel trips and stay at home,” said Scowsill.
“Although there are still a number of uncertainties regarding the fallout from the nuclear power plant explosions, life is returning to normal: the baseball league has restarted, flights have resumed at Sendai Airport, and Tokyo Disneyland has re-opened. Governments around the world have been too slow to remove blanket travel bans on the whole country; they must ensure that their travel advice accurately reflects what is actually happening on the ground.
“Travel and tourism always recovers rapidly from natural disasters, but this incident in Japan is a little different due to the perception of the situation with the nuclear plants at Fukushima. I urge the Japanese government and industry leaders to communicate clearly to the outside world that the situation in Fukushima is under control. Without this clear and ongoing assurance, it will be difficult to stimulate inbound tourists to return when they have so many other destinations to visit. The lingering concern about radiation must be eradicated from the minds of potential visitors, and this requires a sustained and coordinated communications campaign,” Scowsill added.
As Japan prepares for Golden Week (29 April to 5 May) – one of the four major outbound travel periods in the Japanese calendar – operators are forecasting that outbound trip volume will be a lot lower than last year. But Scowsill said he sees no reason why outbound Japanese consumers should continue to cancel their trips, as the nation is already demonstrating that life is beginning its return to normal.
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