Is our local tourism ready?
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
WITH Japanese tourism consultants displaying their findings complete with providing tips on attracting Japanese tourists, the question that remains now, is Brunei ready?
In an interview with The Brunei Times, at the BIMP-EAGA seminar yesterday, Tourism Division Director, Haji Tali Rahman of Asean-Japan Centre based in Japan said the promotion of Brunei to the Japanese market holds many challenges.
He said one of the main factor is 'accessibility' which compounded with the fact that with no direct flights to the sultanate from Japan, it develops certain difficulties for Japanese tourists to reach Brunei.
The director said during his role as director for the division which he will seat for a three years, he was surprised with the curiosity of the public (Japanese) displayed.
"The interest is there, and they know about Brunei," he said, and added but there is still not enough information, and there is a need for more marketing of Brunei to Japanese.
When asked if the sultanate can one day lure in Japanese tourists, the director replied "Yes we can. They like to visit new destinations" and classified the Japanese as 'experienced travellers".
With Brunei able to provide a quality, authentic experience with its rich heritage, it is the 'pull factor' for the Japanese market.
In yesterday's seminar, the Japanese consultants revealed various trends and figures of Japanese outbound travellers.
Figures showed market shifts, where young traveller numbers are decreasing, with an increase of travellers in older age groups.
The consultant said, the market which has shifted to more 'seniors, or baby boomers' travelling out of Japan, will be the next core of the Japanese travel market in the next ten years.
Previously reported by The Brunei Times by the end of this year through the re-opening of the Bandar Seri Begawan to Osaka air route, it is expected to bring in 4,000 Japanese tourists, an agreement made between Brunei and Japanese tourism authorities.
It was noted by the Brunei Tourism's director that dealing with that amount of tourists in a period of less than two months is a challenge as Brunei currently does not have enough Japanese speaking tour guides, or the facility to produce such a workforce from the local market.
Travel agencies in the sultanate also revealed that currently, the number of Japanese tourists coming to Brunei is around 2,000 a year.
Over the years, the number has increased to between 10 and 20 per cent each year, and in the last five years, about 10,000 Japanese tourists have visited the sultanate.
The Brunei Times
In an interview with The Brunei Times, at the BIMP-EAGA seminar yesterday, Tourism Division Director, Haji Tali Rahman of Asean-Japan Centre based in Japan said the promotion of Brunei to the Japanese market holds many challenges.
He said one of the main factor is 'accessibility' which compounded with the fact that with no direct flights to the sultanate from Japan, it develops certain difficulties for Japanese tourists to reach Brunei.
The director said during his role as director for the division which he will seat for a three years, he was surprised with the curiosity of the public (Japanese) displayed.
"The interest is there, and they know about Brunei," he said, and added but there is still not enough information, and there is a need for more marketing of Brunei to Japanese.
When asked if the sultanate can one day lure in Japanese tourists, the director replied "Yes we can. They like to visit new destinations" and classified the Japanese as 'experienced travellers".
With Brunei able to provide a quality, authentic experience with its rich heritage, it is the 'pull factor' for the Japanese market.
In yesterday's seminar, the Japanese consultants revealed various trends and figures of Japanese outbound travellers.
Figures showed market shifts, where young traveller numbers are decreasing, with an increase of travellers in older age groups.
The consultant said, the market which has shifted to more 'seniors, or baby boomers' travelling out of Japan, will be the next core of the Japanese travel market in the next ten years.
Previously reported by The Brunei Times by the end of this year through the re-opening of the Bandar Seri Begawan to Osaka air route, it is expected to bring in 4,000 Japanese tourists, an agreement made between Brunei and Japanese tourism authorities.
It was noted by the Brunei Tourism's director that dealing with that amount of tourists in a period of less than two months is a challenge as Brunei currently does not have enough Japanese speaking tour guides, or the facility to produce such a workforce from the local market.
Travel agencies in the sultanate also revealed that currently, the number of Japanese tourists coming to Brunei is around 2,000 a year.
Over the years, the number has increased to between 10 and 20 per cent each year, and in the last five years, about 10,000 Japanese tourists have visited the sultanate.
The Brunei Times
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