What are people who work in the domestic tourism industry — from tour operators to inn owners to regional tourism promotion offices — doing to attract foreign visitors? Here are the voices of marketers from across Japan:
Hokkaido's main visitors
Have you heard rumors that Hokkaido is full of Western skiiers? Step outside of ski town Niseko and the vast majority of foreign tourists to the northern island are in fact from Asia. Half of those who go to Sapporo are from Taiwan, while visitors from Hong Kong and Korea — from where there are also direct flights — fill out the top three. "Skiers have a lot of baggage, so they tend not to travel too much beyond the ski resorts," says Akiko Fujisawa, from the Tourism and Cultural Affairs Bureau of Sapporo City. Fujisawa says visitors from warmer countries in South East Asia are particularly interested in Hokkaido's cold winters and snow. "Many of them see snow for the first time here," she says. But other seasons are popular with Asian visitors, too. "Korean couples come for 'hiking dates' and golf, Taiwanese come to see the flowers in spring, and Chinese come for the seafood," she reports. www.welcome.city.sapporo.jp