As regional Japanese stakeholders look beyond leisure tourism to tap into corporate incentive travel, three first-time participants at the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) Incentive Travel Roadshow are zeroing in on Singapore as their primary growth engine in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
For Incontro Mondo, a DMC based in Kurashiki City, participating in the Singapore roadshow for the first time is a play for multi-market reach.
“Singapore is a hub where travellers across South-east Asia, Australia, and New Zealand gather,” said Kawamoto Munehisa, president of Incontro Mondo. “Travellers from Australia and New Zealand regularly connect through Singapore’s Changi Airport before heading to Japan. That makes the Singapore market vital for bringing corporate incentive groups to our region.”
Recognising that large corporate groups of 100 to 200 people can easily overwhelm smaller cities like Kurashiki, Munehisa’s strategy involves splitting the entire cohort into smaller batches (such as four groups of 50) and routing them through twin-city circuits combining Kurashiki with major gateways like Osaka, Hiroshima, or Okayama.
Tailoring itineraries to the typical 5D4N length favoured by Singaporean corporate groups, the DMC is also able to arrange local experiences such as making Japanese lanterns, night river cruises in the Bikan Historical Area, and denim-related teambuilding activities.
Meanwhile, the Utsunomiya Convention & Visitors Bureau, part of Tochigi Prefecture, chose to participate exclusively in the Singapore leg of the APAC roadshow, bypassing the event’s five other regional stops in Bangkok, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Manila.
“It is challenging to secure the budget for multiple overseas stops,” shared Etsuyo Komaba of the bureau’s International Tourism and MICE Promotion department. “As our budget is limited, we chose to focus on the strongest market. Singapore is renowned for its MICE industry, accessibility is high, and we already have established connections with local buyers.”
Komaba added that while the Utsunomiya Convention & Visitors Bureau was previously focused on attracting conventions, it has shifted its attention to the incentives sector after connecting with Singapore-based incentive planners through the Japan MICE Expo and hosting them on a local sake brewery tour.
Another first-time participant is Soun Kaku, a 166-room, four-star hotel founded in 1923 in Sounkyo, Hokkaido. Out of the hotel’s 70,000 annual guests, Singaporeans currently account for only about 200 visitors, leaving vast room for expansion as the property seeks to welcome more international travellers to eastern Hokkaido.
Okumura Shoichi, president and managing director of Soun Kaku, told TTGmice: “While our pricing can sometimes feel a bit high for guests from other regional markets, Singaporeans will find it very reasonable (due to the strength of the Singapore dollar). This makes leisure travellers and MICE groups an extremely important market for us.”
To support its aim of becoming a five-star property, the hotel is currently undertaking a major luxury expansion featuring 20 new suites equipped with private open-air hot-spring baths, scheduled to open in 2028, according to Shoichi.
