Tourism Japan targeting wealthy travellers for regional revival

The lavish spending of ultra-rich travellers on services such as private yachts and helicopters could help Japan's regional areas recover economically after the pandemic. According to industry experts, these luxury travellers can discover the hidden gems of Japan's culture in places less popular than Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

Mie-based venture company Blank Marketing & Management Ltd. is the developer of an app called Airc, which enables on-demand helicopter flights between various locations in Japan, almost like booking an Uber. Wealthy tourists who want to skip the Tokyo traffic and get to Mt. Fuji in 30 minutes, for example, could open the app and book a private helicopter from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko. The app handles all the arrangements, including transfer from the customer's location to the heliport. Suppose a user wants to eat sea urchins. In that case, the app will be able to identify the best restaurants across the country, devise a route, and even make all the necessary reservations to get to the chosen location.

The Japan National Tourism Organization defines "high-value travelers" as those who spend a total of 1 million JPY (USD 7,000) or more per visit to Japan. According to a report by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, high-value travelers from six countries -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, and China -- in 2019 accounted for only 1 per cent of total inbound visitors to Japan but contributed to 11.5 per cent of total travel expenditure.

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In addition to economic benefits, affluent travelers from overseas also "improve the city's image through their influence, contributing to the growth of visitors," said Shigeki Yamaguchi, director for city sales at the metropolitan government. The Japanese government would like to see annual spending by inbound tourists, which dwindled during the COVID-19 pandemic after hitting 4.8 trillion JPY in 2019, to reach 5 trillion JPY as early as possible, and has put particular focus on attracting high-net-worth visitors.

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AIRC app: