42 SPECIAL FEATURE
42 SPECIAL FEATURE GASTRONOMY EVENTS THAT DRIVE & WINE TRAVEL TOURISM & TOURISM Sport and culture play a key role in world tourism ADVERTORIAL Akito Tadokoro Director of Marketing and Promotion, Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau (TCVB) TOKYO TO PROSPER FROM TWO SPORTING MEGA EVENTS Beach volleyball at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London Do mega-events have a positive effect on tourism? It depends on the event, but they generally have a positive effect in the long term in terms of destination exposure. Sport is probably the activity that has the most positive effect on tourism. London, for example, saw growth of 20% in the total number of arrivals in the year following the summer Olympics. By comparison, the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 attracted 541,000 tourists over July and August 2016, 157,000 more visitors than during summer 2015. And surveys suggested that 95% of visitors were considering further visits to Brazil. The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa brought over 310,000 visitors with the primary purpose of watching the games. Some 5% of all travellers indicated their intention to visit other African nations. In 2018, the FIFA World Cup in Russia also had a positive effect. According to Russian officials some 1.5 million tourists travelled to the event with a number of cities enjoying solid growth – for example Sochi, which welcomed 90% more tourists in summer of 2018 than on the previous year. In Europe, cultural festivals and events are becoming true hits. ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 7 th March 2019 The German Tourism Association estimates that 85 million people visited more than 1,500 German Christmas markets in 2017 and between 20% and 25% of all those visitors travelled from abroad. CULTURAL FESTIVALS AND EVENTS ARE BECOMING TRUE HITS. Cultural events are a key attraction for tourists. A study conducted in 2016 for Salzburg said that the city’s famed festival was motivation for some 95% of visits there. The Lyon Festival of Light has grown over the years from a regional to an international event. Around one hundred thousand visitors visit the French city in December for the four days of the festival, coming as far as Japan or the US to discover Lyon Rugby World Cup 2019 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games set to give major boost to tourism Two upcoming major sporting events – the Rugby World Cup 2019 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games – will thrust Tokyo into the spotlight. We asked Akito Tadokoro, Director of Marketing and Promotion of the Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau (TCVB) how planning for these two events is coming along. Tickets for the Rugby World Cup 2019 are being sold well, and 20% to 30% are expected to be sold overseas. If this percentage does not change, we will be welcoming more than 400,000 overseas visitors during the games nationwide, and that figure is more than we expected. The prices of the tickets for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games have recently been decided and the new National Stadium will be completed this autumn – the public’s expectations are rising. How important are these events for the image and profile of Tokyo? Tokyo is one of the hottest “bucket list” destinations in the world, but still, the majority of overseas visitors to the city are from East and Southeast Asia. These sporting events will give exposure to the city especially in North America, Europe and Oceania, and it is an opportunity for us to gain more visitors from those regions. TOKYO IS ONE OF THE HOTTEST “BUCKET LIST” DESTINATIONS IN THE WORLD What is being done in terms of packages and promotions? We want more people to think of Tokyo as a leisure travel destination, so recently we have strengthened our B2C promotions. For example, we are now showing our promotional video “Unstoppable Journey” on TV stations including TV CM, on CNNI and Eurosport. We are also focusing on the luxury travel market and joined Virtuoso and Traveller Made as a preferred destination last year. We are the first city in Japan to join those consortiums Hall 26a / Stand 102 www.itb-berlin-news.com
SPECIAL FEATURE LGBT+ TRAVEL 43 LGBT TOURISM IS BECOMING LGBT+ TOURISM Rika Jean-François CSR Officer, ITB Berlin The “+” sign has been added early this year to the international acronym, in reference to the addition of new and socially-accredited orientations. The new acronym LGBT+ is now in use at ITB Berlin ITB Berlin leads the way for LGBT+ tourism The Gay & Lesbian Travel Pavilion is once again welcoming the world’s largest display of LGBTrelated tourism companies and will introduce the LGBT+ Pioneer Award. ITB Berlin has been a pioneer in promoting LGBT tourism, and, over the years, the LGBT+ travel space has grown in importance and is now a full-fledged Travel Pavilion in Hall 21b. New exhibitors this year include Friendly Piemonte from Italy, the Malta Tourism Authority, which hosted the first LGBT+ Tourism Summit in 2018, Keihan Hotel from Japan, the Thrive Summit by Connect Travel, and New York City, the World Pride Destination 2019. Also new is the LGBT+ Media Lounge which is hosted by ITB Berlin, TomOnTour and Pink Banana from the US. In addition to presentations on the pavilion’s own stage, a panel discussion will be taking place for the first time. “LGBT+ travel has developed from a niche product to an internationally recognised segment in the travel world. As more countries are now legalizing or are embarking on recognizing civil partnerships among same gender partners, LGBT+ travel is now booming in many countries,“ says Rika Jean-François, CSR officer at ITB Berlin. For the first time, ITB Berlin and Diversity Tourism will hold an LGBT+ Leadership Summit which is open to anyone interested to learn more about the evolution and challenges of pink tourism. Leading experts representing business, politics and tourism will give presentations and discuss the different situations of LGBT+ communities around the world. A report by the business consultancy Accenture will illustrate how sensibly pursued diversity strategies can help to improve the quality of life of the community in general and will highlight the role that LGBT+ tourism plays. Panel speakers include John Tanzella, President & CEO International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, Pablo De Luca, President CCGLAR, Argentina LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Reginald Charlot, Managing Director Tourism Development, Established Markets, NYC & Company, Klaus Jetz, Executive Director, Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD) and German parliamentarian Dr. Jens Brandenburg, who speaks on LGBTI politics for the FDP party Hall 21b THAILAND IS PUSHING FOR DIVERSITY TOURISM With its slogan ‘Amazing Thailand, Open to the new shades’, Thailand is now embracing LGBT+ tourism. Last year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) was the official sponsor of the ITB Berlin LGBT Media Brunch and it will again be present during the same event this year. The country has been an important destination for LGBT+ communities due, to the tolerant attitudes of local people. But, according to TAT, the kingdom could further appeal to LGBT+ communities as the government is looking at legalising same-sex partnerships. A decision could be taken by the next government following national elections at the end of this month. The TAT is also planning to release the first guide book for Bangkok, providing useful information and tips for LGBT+ and LGBT-friendly travellers. PIEMONTE STEPS INTO LGBT+ TOURISM Friendly Piemonte is the programme that Torino and Piemonte now dedicate to LGBT+ tourists in order to offer the best of the region. Conceived by Associazione Quore, with the support of Regione Piemonte, Friendly Piemonte intends to promote Torino and Piemonte as a pink tourism destination with tailor-made tours and gay-friendly hotels. Among them is a new circuit in Torino called Tuttaltra Storia which brings travellers on the path of illustrious personalities. The tour offers an unconventional perspective on the history of Turin and the Piemonte region built around the lives of 12 famous people. From Nietzsche to Leonardo da Vinci, from Princess Marie Louise of Savoy to Italian actress Eleonora Duse, visitors will discover a region of great surprises Hall 21b / Stand 215d Traditional Manohra Dances of the South Hall 21b / Stand 216 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 7 th March 2019
