Japan’s Kansai region is seeing a surge in demand for business events, fuelled by its hosting of Expo 2025, a six-month event in Osaka due to conclude on October 13.
The World Exposition has driven investment in the construction and renovation of new facilities and infrastructure while also raising the global profile of the region as a destination for business events.
Ahead of the event’s opening, on April 13, key players in the business events industry in Osaka formed Team Osaka MICE, an initiative described by Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau (OCTB) as “a unified effort to bring more meetings and events to Osaka leading up to and during Expo 2025”.
The city has also been “working to improve its global standing leading up to Expo 2025, showcasing the flexibility to hold a variety of events, including adapting to new global standards in sustainability”, added the OCTB.
Those efforts are bearing fruit, with a range of events held in the region in recent months, such as the Asia Beauty Expo, which brought 20,000 pax and 150 companies to Osaka in June, and the Global Startup Expo in mid-September. In October, Higashiosaka will host The Corporate Games, an international multi-sport festival held in 37 countries.
Business events arrivals to Kansai are enjoying new regional improvements including the launch of international flights into Kobe in April and the March opening of Grand Green Osaka’s south wing, which comprises the Waldorf Astoria Osaka, Hotel Hankyu Gran Respire Osaka, business events spaces, 55 shops and restaurants and wellness facilities.
