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Japan Marketing and Sales Programs

Through the launch of the Signature Experience Collection®, our marketing and sales programs invite Japanese travellers to see and experience Canada in a whole new way. Whether we work directly with travel agencies and tour operators, conduct travel trade shows, or bring media and destination partners together to exchange stories and tourism experiences, our initiatives target two key channels. Our integrated media and trade partnership programs—focusing on fully independent travel (FIT) and group travel—are the cornerstones of all major activities in Japan. These programs focus on raising awareness of Canada as a desirable destination, driving the consumer to book Canada now.

Travel Trade Read more > Close >

Travel Trade
CTC-Japan's trade development focuses largely on the wholesale aspects of selling travel. The Japan team organizes trade shows, conducts sales calls, organizes tour operator and partner familiarization (FAM) tours and conducts training under the Canada Specialist Program.

Canada Joint Marketing Fund

In October 2009, the Japan Association of Travel Agents(JATA) officially announced the appointment of Canada as one of the target destinations for JATA’s extensive tourism promotion “Visit World Campaign 2010”(VWC). In response, CTC-Japan organized and executed a number of comprehensive promotional campaigns in partnership with our territorial and provincial partners. This successful partnership continues to expand, with Yukon and the Northwest Territories now joining the original four provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Prince Edward Island. Activities in 2012 will include:

  • Co-op marketing support for travel trade key accounts
  • In-store retail marketing campaigns (through key tour operator partners)
  • Product/itinerary development support
  • Agency-specific familiarization (FAM) tours
  • Extensive in-house retail agent training program (more than 500 agents trained in 2011).

The Team Canada concept is now well recognized and much appreciated by Japanese tour operators as an industry-leading way to proactively build recognition for a country in its entirety (with a specific focus on partner provinces/territories), while building a one-stop shop for tour operators’ program and product development.

Canada Specialist Program

The Canada Specialist Program provides online destination training for all frontline staff in Japan plus a range of activities and promotions to keep Canada top of mind. The program offers:

  • Online training modules and exams with instant results
  • Selling tools
  • Tools and training manuals.

CSP empowers agents to provide professional, in-depth client consultation and to develop new and innovative tours to Canada.

Trade Shows

For details on these events and more, check out our Trade Shows & Events.

Media Read more > Close >

CTC-Japan supports media with partnered presstrips as well as through the organization of media trips to showcase Canadian experiences. The CTC pitches targeted story ideas to media influencers, with a strong focus on broadcast media.

In 2012, CTC-Japan will collaborate with tourism-industry partners to support various broadcast projects, including:

·       Working with production crews to support filming in Canada

·       Promoting Canadian experiences in partnership with producers and media partners

·       Developing specialized tour products to spotlight film locations, and support sales promotions with major Japanese travel agencies.

As part of the Rendez-vous Canada and Showcase Canada-Asiatradeshows, CTC-Japan will assemble the best of Japan's travel media to meet Canadian operators and destination representatives. These media target their content to Japanese trade and are seen as a key tool in further educating travel trade on Canadian product, on an ongoing basis.

Visit Canada programs for media

In partnership with provincial and destination marketing organizations, tour operators and airlines, CTC-Japan invites influential media to enjoy Canada's unique travel experiences and intriguing destinations. Canadian suppliers showcase their products, encouraging these influencers to write stories about their destinations or experiences.

GoMedia Canada Marketplace

Japanese broadcast media also attend GoMedia Canada Marketplace, where Canadian travel operators exchange stories and ideas with international media. This event is held annually in Canada with a different destination hosting each year. GoMedia 2012 will take place inWhitehorse, YT, May 27-31. This event is key in the Japan market for identifying future broadcast and location shoots.

Social Media

CTC-Japan launched a Facebook page, a Twitter account and YouTube channel in 2011. Social media is growing at a fast clip in Japan (post-earthquake, many social-media platforms experienced exponential growth in follower numbers). CTC-Japan has and will continue to focus on influencer programs to continue to grow Canada fan numbers and encourage further exchange and engagement, in partnership with Canadian and Japanese associates.

Inbound travel to Canada from Japan
  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Overnight trip to Canada (000's) 398.3 363.7 310.6 258.9 180.3 215.4
Year to year change 1.8% -8.7% -14.6% -16.7% -30.4% 19.5%
Receipts ($M) 557.1 493.4 402.3 356.1 270.9 330.1
Year to year change 0.7% -11.4% -18.5% -11.5% -24.0% 21.9%
Source: International Travel Survey, Statistics Canada.

Quick facts Read more > Close >

  • Japan’s economy, the third largest in the world, suffered a setback in early 2011 following March’s massive Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which devastated northeast Japan. In the first quarter of 2011, GDP fell by 0.9%, pushing the country back into a recession. GDP is forecast to contract by 0.5% in 2011, but to strengthen in 2012 as Japan resumes its capacity to fill export orders. (Source: Oxford Economics, July 2011)
  • In 2010, Japan’s 21,524,390totaloutbound departures represented 11.8% growth over 2009.(Source: Japan National Tourist Organization)
  • In 2010, Japanese travellers made 215,400overnight trips to Canada—a significant increase of 19.5% over 2009.
  • Japanese travellers injected $330.1million into the Canadian economy in 2010, up 21.9% from 2009.
  • In 2010, Japanese travellers spent on average $1,532 per person-trip; the average stay was 14 nights.
  • In 2010, the main purpose of travel to Canada by Japanese was for pleasure (52%) followed by visits to friends and relatives (22%).
  • In 2010, summer remained the most popular season to visit among Japanese travellers (37%).
  • The age group 55 and over made up the largest share of all travellers from Japan (33%), particularly Japanese “Baby Boomers” (born between 1947 and 1949). These newly minted seniors are active and have financial resources.

Source: Statistics Canada, International Travel Survey, unless otherwise indicated. All Statistics Canada numbers are preliminary.

Current trends and market considerations Read more > Close >

Japan continues to recover from the major earthquake in Tōhoku on March 11, 2011,and the ensuing massive tsunami that subsequently triggered failures at several nuclear power plants. Despite earlier predictions that expected a significant decrease in outbound travel, the opposite occurred. 2011 saw an increase of year-on-year travellers, with some short-haul destinations enjoying record numbers in terms of growth. While long-haul destinations did not see the same increases, the drop in visitor numbers was significantly less than originally anticipated, including to Canada.

As a result of the recovery process, a number of new trends have arisen:
 

  • An increase in last-minute bookings. One to two weeks prior to departure is no longer an unusual booking window.
  •  An increase in longer vacations at beach destinations (two to three additional nights) for Hawaii, Guam and Southeast Asia, as well as an additional one or two nights to long-haul destinations.
     

Hikes in fuel surcharges remain a major concern for tour operators. When brochures were produced in early 2011, the package prices for many group tours did not anticipate such an increase in fuel surcharges. In addition, many tour operators have also indicated that the downsizing of available aircraft by airlines has made creating package tours more difficult. While consumers have now begun to accept fuel surcharges as the norm, it plays a role in their selection of destinations (short-haul vs. long-haul)

Tour wholesalers continue to introduce tour products with extra nights for consumers who wanted to have longer holidays this summer across the board. However, such demand is limited and products have not been proving popular among consumers.

Japanese travellers enjoy touring the country by coach or rail, interacting with locals and visiting historical or cultural attractions. Nature travel is highly rewarding for these travellers, who love to explore coastal scenery and rivers, as well as national parks and protected areas. However, Japanese travellers are—more than ever—interested in engaging closely and meaningfully with outdoor, cultural and lifestyle travel experiences in Canada. They want to get in on the action.

The Japanese are also changing their travel patterns, shifting from a preference for group-escorted tours to travelling alone or in parties of two adults. More Japanese travellers are also starting to use the Internet to book their vacations, particularly for short-haul destinations, although growth is being seen for long-haul destinations.

About half of the Japanese who visit Canada are 50 years and older. To effectively compete with the desire for exotic and trendy destinations among younger Japanese travellers, Canada needs to promote a diverse range of compelling travel experiences.

Guided by the CTC corporate strategy, the Japan strategy focuses on high-yield travellers—consumers who spend more, stay longer and are less influenced by exchange-rate fluctuations and market pressures.

Contact our team Read more > Close >

Contact our team for more information:

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