MORE Vietnamese government and commercial organisations are drawn to Japan for incentive programmes, a trend encouraged by the travellers’ recognition of the country’s high quality products, ability to recover quickly from the 2011 Tohoku disaster and vast natural and cultural attractions, according to Vietnamese buyers at the recent Visit Japan Travel Mart in Yokohama.
Data from Japan National Tourism Organization showed that 47,000 Vietnamese arrived in Japan between January and October 2012, up from 35,257 during the same period in 2010. Vietnam also registered the strongest growth among the destination’s other key tourism source markets.
Hanoi Red Tours operations manager, Nguyen Thi Quynh Mai, told TTGmice that Japan’s management of the tsunami disaster and efficiency in regaining travellers’ confidence had left a positive imprint on the minds of Vietnamese consumers, spurring more to desire a trip to the destination.
“Japan is a new destination (for my clients) and most of them are interested in experiencing Japanese culture,” said Nguyen.
For Tour 100 Vietnam, demand for Japan as an incentive destination has been on the rise “over the last few years”. The company’s director of sales, Vu Minh Chau, explained that incentive clients would first choose destinations closer to home, such as Thailand, China and Singapore, before venturing farther and to somewhere pricier.
Vu said: “Japan is much more expensive as a destination, so it is regarded as ‘the next level’. A company would have a budget of US$300 per person for an incentive trip to Thailand, but a programme in Japan for five to seven days would cost between US$1,000 to US$2,000 per person.”
She noted that demand for Japan had started to rise in 2010, but the tsunami disaster in the following year had impeded growth potential. However, recovery has been brisk, and Vu reported that interest in Japan this year was “stronger than ever before”.
