Tag Archives: Japan

At the first HollandCity Global Travel Trade Show in the Hanseatic City of Zwolle, Carola Muller–van Rijn, Global Travel Trade Manager, NBTC Holland Marketing, informed, “The next edition of the travel trade show will be held in The Haugue and Delft on October 8, 2019.” NBTC Holland Marketing and MarketingOost welcomed over 100 international travel organisations with a goal to put the Netherlands on the map with international travel organisations as an attractive travel destination. In addition to 105 international tour operators from India, Russia, Brazil, Japan, China, Indonesia, Italy, Germany and other countries, there were 75 organisations from the tourism sector as well, including museums, hotels, attractions, events venues and restaurants. Expressing happiness with the growth from the Indian market, Muller says, “In terms of growth, India is our second fastest growing market, after Russia. The Netherlands welcomed 165,000 visitors from India last year registering a growth of 31 per cent and we are expecting 24 per cent growth from India this year.”

Claiming that overall security condition has improved in Meghalaya, Governor Ganga Prasad sought withdrawal of travel advisory by the Japan consulate cautioning its citizens not to travel to the hill state. The travel advisory has been issued to Japanese citizens for quite a long time against visiting Meghalaya in view of internal security apprehensions in the state. Some data relating to the improved security situation of Meghalaya has been obtained and shared with the ambassador so that appropriate steps could be taken to review the situation (adverse travel advisory), Prasad said in a note to Japan Ambassador Kenji Hiramatus. The note was given when the Japanese Ambassdor had called on the governor at Raj Bhawan in Shillong. Prasad said this (withdrawal of the travel advisory) will help build a long-term relationship between the people of Japan and India. The governor was quoted by an official as briefing the Ambassador of the states unique opportunity for tourists from Japan to visit. The state is home to Sohra (erstwhile Cherrapunji) which is known for receiving the world’s heaviest rainfall in a single day besides the recent development in which the longest sandstone cave (nearly 25 km in length) was discovered in Mawsynram. The governor also sought assistance of Japanese experts to facilitate introducing cultivation of Shiitake mushroom in the state, taking advantage of similar climatic condition as in that country. He said Meghalaya have native species of woody trees that are suitable for Shiitake mushroom cultivation and farmers can benefit immensely. Source PTI  

The Maharashtra government has renewed its MoU with Wakayama Prefectural Japan (WPJ) for five years. The agreement was signed by Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Yoshinobu Nisaka San, Governor of Wakayama. The MoU commenced in 2013 with the purpose of enhancing relations between Maharashtra and Japan for expanding association in the field of tourism and investment, and promote agro and food processing units. More than 40 delegates from WPG visited Indian Merchant Chamber to promote the prospects of Wakayama. The delegates also visited various heritage sites and commercial hubs in Mumbai including Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalay (CSMVS), Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and BSE to understand the importance of these heritage sites and explore the diversity of the state. Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism & (EGS), Government of Maharashtra, said, “I am delighted to be associated with Wakayama Prefectural Government and the MoU is a great stage for us to surge our global footmark and put Maharashtra on the international map. This MoU has strengthened the ties between two states of the nations.”

Simplifying its visa regime for Indians, Japan will issue multiple-entry visa for short-term stay starting January 1, 2018. Under the new rules, there will be relaxation in terms of visa application documents as well as expansion scope of eligible applicants, as revealed in an official release. Applicants will now have to submit only three documents to get multiple-entry visas to Japan. The applicant’s employment certificate and explanation letter stating the reason will be exempted in cases of applying for multiple-entry visa. The required documents would include passport visa application form (with photo) and papers to prove the financial capability (for tourism purpose)/documents to prove the applicant’s affiliation to certain enterprises (for business purpose). Multiple-entry visas with a maximum validity of five years and a stay of 90 days will be issued to applicants who have travel records to Japan twice or more in the last one year. In this case, the eligible applicants may submit only their passports and visa application form, as per the release.

India and Japan have signed an agreement that will allow their airlines to operate unlimited number of flights between the two countries. The pact followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe holding strategic discussions on a wide range of issues. An official release said India and Japan exchanged RoD (Record of Discussions) on civil aviation cooperation with respect to open sky. “It opens skies between India and Japan ie. Indian and Japanese carriers can mount now unlimited number of flights to the selected cities of each other’s countries,” the release said. The National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016, allows the government to enter into an ‘open sky’ air services agreement on a reciprocal basis with SAARC nations as well as countries beyond a 5,000 kilometre radius from New Delhi. Currently, Japanese carriers All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines — fly into India while Air India and Jet Airways -1.60 % operate services to Japan. ast year India signed open sky agreements with Greece, Jamaica, Guyana, Czech Republic, Finland, Spain and Sri Lanka. India also has open sky agreement with the US, among other countries. Last week, full service carrier Vistara had announced plans to enter into a code share partnership with Japan Airlines by next year. Vistara is also likely to unveil plans for international operations soon and Japan is on the radar, it had said. (Source: PTI)

Flight Shop, a wholly owned Indian subsidiary of FCTG, Australia, has announced a joint-partnership with Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) and Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) to offer combined holiday packages to the discerning Indian traveller. As both tourism boards come together for the first time, the collaboration intends to strengthen mutual relationships and expand their presence in the Indian market. Commenting on the collaboration, Shravan Gupta, Executive Director – Leisure Businesses, FCM Travel Solutions India, said, “We are extremely delighted to have collaborated with Japan and Korea Tourism boards in India. As a first-of-its-kind, the partnership aligns with our commitment to offer unbeatable escapades to our customers. The popularity of these destinations amongst Indian travellers has driven us to create the finest itineraries with exciting opportunities and unforgettable lifetime experiences. As key long haul destinations, Japan and South Korea have witnessed a robust growth of 30% in Indian outbound travelers; the joint collaboration aims to double this growth over the next few years. As both destinations bet high on India, we will focus primarily on key and emerging metros.” Byungsun Lee, Director, Korea Tourism Organization, said, “We are elated to collaborate with Flight Shop and Japan Tourism Board to promote Far-East in India as we strongly believe that the Korea-Japan combination holiday is a star-offering for Indian market this summer season. Carriers in India (Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Japan Airways, All Nippon Airways) offer excellent connectivity to both the counties with bare minimum connecting times. Together, South Korea and Japan combined will offer an unmatched experience to Indian travellers, especially to families with theme parks, shopping, etc. as the focus themes.” Kenichi Takano, Executive Director, Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) said, “Japan is a destination for …

AirAsia Berhad’s inaugural flight AK 31 connecting Kuala Lumpur to Bhubaneswar will arrive at Biju Patnaik International Airport on the night of April 26. It is the first international airline to operate to and from Bhubaneswar. The four-times weekly flight is estimated to take off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 22:10 hours and is expected to land in Bhubaneswar at 23:25 hours on April 26. Aireen Omar, CEO, AirAsia, and Tourism Malaysia Director General will be travelling to Bhubaneswar on the flight, which will be received with a traditional water salute upon welcome. The airline has received tremendous support from the Odisha Government and Odisha Tourism in particular. The airline will connect Bhubaneswar and Odisha to 120 AirAsia destinations in the Asia Pacific covering South East Asia China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Tourists and businessmen from India and 17 other countries can now travel to Russia’s Far East without a visa, informed Dmitry Medvedev, the Prime Minister of Russia. In order to boost tourism and investment in the region, the nationals of these 18 countries will have simplified entry procedures into Russia through the free port of Vladivostok. According to Pavel Volkov, Deputy Minister, Development of the Far East, tourists and entrepreneurs will only be required to fill a form on the website of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Applications will be approved within four days. Electronic single entry visas will be issued directly at the Russian border and will be valid for 30 days. The 17 countries apart from India include Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei, Iran, Qatar, China, North Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, Mexico, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tunisia, Turkey, and Japan. “I have recently approved the list of countries, whose nationals can take advantage of the preferential regime. We are proactively forming the modern infrastructure and creating special regimes in the far East; the law on visits to the Vladivostok free port was approved in March. This is not because these states are situated at a closer or longer distance – we are appropriately introducing bilateral agreements on visa-free travel for those ready to use such an approach for us,” said Medvedev. Volkov further said, “We’d like to see an increase in tourism to the region by at least 30 percent. Given the fact that every wealthy tourist spends at least $1,000 in the territory, we assume this will significantly increase the opportunities for the development of the region, trade turnover, and currency flows.” Source: Live Mint  

Japan crossed the 100,000 mark in Indian arrivals in 2016 and witnessed a total of 123,000 Indian visitors, informed Masahiko Sakamoto, Senior Director, Tourism Division, Bureau of Industrial and Labour Affairs at Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s first promotional activity on January 30 in New Delhi called Tokyo Wonderland. He said, “We are focusing on improving the arrival numbers from India through such promotional activities to showcase the culture and tourism products of Tokyo. 2020 is the year we host the Paralympic Games and are expecting a large inflow of tourists too.” He informed that places like Ginza and Shibuya are undergoing an infrastructure transformation and are some of the things to look forward to, apart from the cuisine, shopping, numerous nature parks and theme parks. The event showcased the city and its different attractions under five themes ‘Unique Culture’, ‘Excellent Dining’, ‘Exciting Shopping’, ‘Delightful Stay’ and ‘Comfortable Nature’ and also organised a Japanese tea ceremony for the attendees to experience.

Japan will open 13 new visa application centers in India. The centers will be opened at Gurgaon, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Goa, Bengaluru, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Puducherry and Hyderabad. This was informed by Ryoichi Matsuyama, President, Japan National Tourist Office at the opening ceremony of the 2017 the year of Japan-India Friendly Exchanges and the Announcement of Japan-India Collaboration Film Project. “Last year Japan saw 120,000 Indian arrivals whereas 230,000 Japanese visited India. Though the number of Indians visiting Japan is steadily increasing, the current figure is yet modest despite the vast size and scale of India and more so given the long-standing relationship between the two countries,” said Matsuyama. The Japan-India Collaboration Film Project was also announced. The event was attended by Kenko Sone, Minister, Economic and Development, Embassy of Japan; Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister, Government of India, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Ayog, Government of India, Kenchi Takano, Executive Director- Preparation Office for New Delhi, JNTO amongst others. His Excellency Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India added that there will be a number of cultural and tourism related events are planned to be held all around India in 2017.