This year’s Osaka Expo is benefitting western Japan, bringing an anticipated influx of international travellers across the region
With the spotlight on Osaka Expo 2025, cities to Osaka’s west – like Hiroshima and Kobe – are also out in full force promoting themselves as suitable incentive and conference destinations to the Asia-Pacific market.
Samuel Peter, general manager, Hilton Hiroshima, told TTGmice: “The upcoming Osaka Expo 2025 is an incredible opportunity to grow our business events portfolio. The goal is to promote Hiroshima as an ideal location for post-Expo corporate meetings, incentive trips, and cultural excursions, leveraging the Expo’s international platform to showcase Hiroshima’s unique offerings.”
Hilton Hiroshima’s business to leisure ration at the moment is 30 per cent business events, and 70 per cent leisure. However, “much of our MICE business is domestic”.
As such, Peter pointed out that the property is working on strengthening its visibility across the Asia-Pacific region, with a particular emphasis on key markets such as South Korea and China.
“With direct flights introduced in 2024 from these two destinations, we’re well-positioned to attract more regional visitors. These markets, along with Singapore, not only have strong ties to Japan, but also show a growing interest in Hiroshima as a tourism destination,” he explained.
Similarly at Grand Prince Hiroshima, the property’s general manager, Hirase Haruo, wants to attract more groups from the Asia-Pacific region, even as the property already welcomes a sizeable number of domestic business events.
He shared: “As a hotel with experience in hosting international conferences including the G7 summit, we are receiving more MICE enquiries than ever before, but there is still a long way to go.”
Haruo is hopeful that airlines in the region will launch or relaunch international direct flights to Hiroshima, but in the meantime, the hotel will encourage those interested in the destination to use the Shinkansen.
To further boost international awareness among corporates, Hilton Hiroshima and Grand Prince Hiroshima have outlined plans to participate in international trade shows, as well as conduct individual sales calls to key markets, and work closely with DMCs.
Takeomi Murakami, supervisor, MICE Promotion Department, Hiroshima Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), agreed with Haruo, stating that Osaka is only two hours away by Shinkansen. Still, the CVB is actively trying to get airlines to reinstate more direct flights from cities around Asia-Pacific.
“We used to have a number of direct flights, from places like Bangkok and Singapore. These have not returned, but Hong Kong will be back this year. We also have a new connection to Vietnam, as well as direct flights to China and South Korea. Visitors can also access Hiroshima from Fukuoka Airport,” he elaborated.
For 2025, Murakami shared that the CVB’s target are international incentive groups from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, with the destination already popular among corporates from South Korea and Taiwan, as well as international conventions or conferences of 300 to 500.
Hiroshima, the largest city in the Chugoku region, is no stranger to hosting medium-size international conferences and conventions, with around 10 such business events held annually.
In 2024, the International Conference Center Hiroshima welcomed major conventions such as the 30th International Conference on Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services (950 pax), IEEE Asian Solid-State Circuits Conference 2024 (350 pax), and the 24th International Conference on Photochemical Conversion and Storage of Solar Energy (600 pax).
For incentive groups of 50 or more international participants that stay a night in Hiroshima, Hiroshima CVB will prepare welcome gifts, as well as subsidies up to a maximum of 300,000 yen (US$1,919). Murakami added that Sake barrel opening ceremonies, and kagura, a traditional Japanese dance, can also be arranged.
Nearer to Osaka, theatrical attraction, átoa, is a new aquarium and art facility in Kobe, that offers eight different zones for corporate events.
Masaki Takei, project manager of the business planning department, Aquament Co., parent company of átoa, opined that such “an attractive facility is in demand in the international market, but it is not realistic” for the attraction to approach overseas markets on its own. As such, the attraction works closely with Japan National Tourism Organization, Hyogo Tourism Headquarters, and Kobe Tourism Bureau.
On how átoa is leveraging Osaka Expo 2025 to grow its corporate events business, Takei shared that the company has “registered with the Expo Cooperative Business Program” and is ready to accept visitors.
“Kobe is very close to Osaka, only 30 minutes by train, and can be visited on a day trip. However, compared to Osaka and Kyoto, I feel that the city is not (on the radar for many), and I would like to promote the attractiveness of Kobe and encourage visitors to visit the city and átoa,” he pointed out.
Moreover, with the 10,000-seater Glion Arena slated to open in the spring of 2025, the city would definitely warrant more attention, Takei said.
Aside from the arena, Kazuya Sugano, general manager of Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel, is optimistic the business events industry in western Japan will continue to grow, buoyed by the integrated resort that will open in Osaka in 2029.
However, Sugano opined that the hotel industry needs to invest in training staff with specialised business events skills to address the current talent shortage.
