Convention bureaux of secondary cities in Japan are investing more heavily into raising awareness among overseas business event planners, such as through participation at annual sales missions like the Japan MICE Seminar, but buyers tell TTGmice that accessibility continues to be a tough hurdle for the destinations to cross.

Speaking to TTGmice on the sidelines of the Japan MICE Seminar 2018 on Tuesday, an event held in conjunction with Japan National Tourism Organisation’s participation at ITB Asia 2018, business event planners expressed uncertainty over their ability to push corporate groups – meetings in particular – beyond accessible main cities.

Their concerns are mostly over travel logistics.

Tan Li Ting, manager of Apple Vacations Singapore which organises meetings and incentives solely in Japan, said for the secondary destination to work in a corporate programme, it must be accessible by an international airport or be close to a major meeting city.

Tan explained: “Take for example Mie Prefecture which would be accessible for groups that arrive by flight into Kansai International Airport. Shizuoka Prefecture would also be accessible if the group was extending from a meeting in Tokyo or Osaka. However, the programme is unlikely to be built around a specific outlying destination like Okayama Prefecture or Shikoku Island.”

Eve Chia, director of The Meeting Lab, concurred: “We will recommend destinations that are more accessible in terms of flights because our clients usually don’t want to travel so much.”

Planners opined that secondary destinations hold more appeal for incentive groups.

Hong Thai Travel’s Bong Dji Kiong, account manager MICE Department outbound, shared that because he serves mostly incentive groups, he sees strong demand for secondary or outlying destinations “as they have much more to offer”.

Secondary destinations in Japan also stand a higher chance of being selected when corporate groups had repeatedly done main cities and now desire new experiences, or when unique bonus extensions are needed for top achievers.

“We have clients that ask for recommendations as they’ve conducted a lot of events in Japan’s main cities, so we tend to recommend several secondary cities,” Chia said.

Felicia Teng, general manager of The Meeting Lab, added that when clients require a bonus trip for two nights or so for the top five or 10 per cent of qualifiers, a programme to secondary cities would be recommended.

Japanese convention bureaux representing secondary cities told TTGmice that they are not discouraged by planners’ feedback, as they believe that their destination has their own merits, and are less touristy, thus promising a more authentic local experience.

Gifu Convention and Visitors Bureau’s managing director Atsushi Ishida, pointed to Ukai cormorant fishing – designated as an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan – as an example of a uniquely Gifu experience that would work as a perfect evening activity after a congress or meeting.

n addition, Ishida said Gifu is accessible for event delegates as the Gifu Miyako Hotel is directly connected to the Nagaragawa Convention Centre, which saves planners from having to pay for transportation.

For Yuko Sawatani, Okayama Convention Center’s operation department marketing and sales division head, Okayama’s compactness makes a strong lure for time-starved corporate groups.

She said: “Okayama Convention Centre is just a three-minute walk from the train station, and we have 7,000 hotel rooms around the station.’

Furthermore, Okayama bills itself as a Muslim-friendly destination which bodes well for Muslim incentive groups and congresses with Muslim delegates, as they can enjoy Muslim-friendly homestays and Halal-certified cuisine.