2002 - 2003 Annual Report - Tourism Australia

Japan
Overview
Visitor arrivals from Japan remained constant during 2002/03 with a total of 658,600 recorded
for the year.
Before SARS, visitor arrivals from Japan had been tracking well and were up by 6.2 per cent as
at December 2002 compared with the previous year.This was largely due to the strong growth
experienced in the last quarter of 2002, which were in contrast to the post September 11
period the year before.
The momentum continued in January and February 2003, however, the threat of a war in
Iraq and international terrorist activity caused great concern to the Japanese travelling public,
resulting in a downturn in arrivals not only to Australia, but to all overseas destinations.
Perceptions of Australia were still positive, viewed by many as a safe haven.Australia’s overall
market share and general attractiveness has improved at a time of great uncertainty within
the Japanese market.
Highlights and activities
• The JAL New Style Australia Campaign
targeting the Japanese young female
segments was extended for the third
year in 2002/03. In addition, JAL
launched a new national multi media
campaign aimed at creating a greater
sense of confidence in the Japanese
travelling public.The AUD$25 million
JAL FLY JAL campaign featured only
two destinations: Hawaii and Australia.
JAL also selected Australia as the
destination of choice for their annual
national newspaper media
familiarisation which generated more
than AUD$1.3 million in equivalent
advertising value.
• Ian Thorpe continued in his capacity as
Australian Holiday Ambassador to
Japan during the year. Ian was featured
in national newspaper advertisements,
railway station billboards, online
promotions, a nationally televised
90 minute television program, and was
the face of Australia’s post SARS/IRAQ
recovery campaign.
• The Japan Australia Advisory Group
(JAAG) was formed, with high level
representation from the major travel
companies in Japan who account for
about 70 per cent of all Japanese travel
to Australia. A major initiative, Vision
One Million, which has the objective of
attracting one million visitors per annum
from Japan to Australia by 2010, was
successfully launched in Tokyo and
endorsed by the members of JAAG,
the Australian Ambassador, STOs and
the airlines.This is a first for a National
Tourist Office in Japan.
• The ATC, in conjunction with the
STOs, Japan Airlines, Qantas and the
Australian Embassy, founded Club Oz
groups in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and
Fukuoka.The aim was to develop an
ongoing dialogue with the senior
managers of key industry partners in
Japan. OZNET groups, which have a
similar purpose to Club Oz, but involve
middle management of the agencies,
have also been organised in Tokyo,
Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo.
• The arrival of Australian Airlines in
October 2002, provided direct flights to
Australia from Nagoya and Osaka.To
capitalise on this opportunity, the ATC
partnered with Qantas and Australian
Airlines on campaigns targeting the
mature female market. ATC also
partnered with Qantas and Tourism
Victoria on the launch of a new Tokyo-
Melbourne daily service in July 2002.
• The ATC continues to expand its
use of technology in this market,
with upgrades to content on the
ATC’s Japanese language website
for consumers, www.australia.jp, a
monthly email magazine (which
has around 30,000 subscribers) and
the development of a specialised
school excursion website for the
education market.
• A delegation of 64 Australian suppliers
visited four key source market centres
in Japan in February 2003 for the Japan
Australia Mission 2003. Over the five
day event, Australian sellers met with
up to 700 buyers and key media in
Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo.
The JAL FLY JAL campaign featured
Australia as a holiday destination
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