Vol. 87 October 21, 2011

Transcription

1 Vol. 87 October 21, 2011 Editor s Message On behalf of J Compass, Inc. dba Hawai`i Tourism Japan, we wanted to send a BIG MAHALO to all of you for your support, partnership and friendship over the past eight years. It has been a great privilege and opportunity working with, and learning from all of you. Starting next year, a.link LLC will be HTA s new Japan MMA marketing contractor. We hope you will join us in welcoming them to the team. Please see their details Visitor Statistics Total Arrivals: August 2011 Total visitor arrivals declined (-4%) in August, as well as total visitor days (-4%). Average length of stay remained relatively unchanged, with visitors staying an average of nine-days per trip. Per person spending continued to increase per day (+7%) and per trip (+7%), resulting in positive total expenditures for the month (+2%). Despite the decrease in monthly visitor arrivals in August, year-to-date (YTD), the industry remains strong: visitor arrivals (+3%), average length of stay (+1%), visitor days (+4%), per person per day spending (+10%), per trip spending (+11%) and total expenditures (+14%). Japanese Arrivals: August 2011 August is considered peak travel season in Japan, due to obon holidays and school summer vacation. As a result, Japanese arrivals only slightly declined during the month (-3%), as the industry continues to recover. Average length of stay slightly dropped (-3%) affecting total visitor days (-6%). However, thanks to the strength of the yen, spending continued to increase: per person per day (+9%) and per trip spending (+5%), and total expenditures (+3%) improved in August 2011 compared to last year. Japanese arrivals (-8%) and visitor days (-6%) continue to improve with smaller declines YTD. Average length of stay remains positive (+3%) along with average spending per day (+11%) and per trip (+14%), resulting in positive total expenditures (+5%). below (P7) and reach out to them ensure a smooth transition in strengthening Hawai`i s tourism industry. During the remaining months as the Japan MMA contractor, J Compass will continue to aggressively conduct scheduled promotions (P3), garner media coverage (P4) and offer marketing opportunities (P5) in order to continue market recovery (P1). Please don t hesitate to contact us if you need anything (P6). Mahalo! Total Arrivals Aug 2011 % Change Total Visitor Arrivals 651, % Avg Length of Stay % Visitor Days 6,028, % PPPD Spending $ % PPPT Spending $1, % Total Expenditures $1,079.1-mil 2.3% Total Arrivals YTD 2011 % Change Total Visitor Arrivals 4,885, % Avg Length of Stay % Visitor Days 46,439, % PPPD Spending $ % PPPT Spending $1, % Total Expenditures $8,253.7-mil 14.1% Japanese Arrivals Aug 2011 % Change Total Visitor Arrivals 122, % Avg Length of Stay % Visitor Days 796, % PPPD Spending $ % PPPT Spending $1, % Total Expenditures $208.6-mil 2.5% Japanese Arrivals YTD 2011 % Change Total Visitor Arrivals 751, % Avg Length of Stay % Visitor Days 4,563, % PPPD Spending $ % PPPT Spending $1, % Total Expenditures $1,271.6-mil 4.9% Japanese Arrivals: August 2011 (Per Island & Travel Trends) Japanese arrivals to O`ahu has started to show signs of recovery, with only a slight decline in total arrivals during the month of August (-1%) and no change in island-only arrivals. YTD, total O`ahu arrivals (-8%) and island-only arrivals (-6%) remain down. Total arrivals to Kaua`i declined for the first time in August (-8%), but island-only (+3%) through August. Maui County and Maui island experienced slight declines in Japanese arrivals in August (-4%) while Maui-only arrivals showed significant declines for the month (-30%). YTD Maui is showing only single digit declines. Hawai`i Island however is experiencing double-digit declines, due to the comparison against the arrivals jumped 34%, strengthening YTD island-only same period last year when the island boasted significant arrivals (+66%). YTD, Kaua`i arrivals remain positive increases. Although total arrivals to the island declined 1

2 15% in August 2011, it is in comparison to a 34% increase in Similarly, Hawai`i-only arrivals declined 28% in August versus the staggering 73% increase during the same period last year. YTD island arrivals are down due to the absence of the direct flight this year. Hotel bookings in August declined slightly (-1%), reflective of O`ahu arrivals for the month, and YTD remains down 10%. Condo bookings slightly declined in August (-3%) but remain positive YTD (+5%). Timeshare bookings were less popular in August (-11%) and remain relatively unchanged YTD (+1%). wedding travel (-26%) in August, leisure travel only slightly dipped (-2%), as vacation travel remained relatively unchanged (-1%). YTD, leisure travel remains down 9%, similar to honeymoon (-10%) and wedding (-9%) travel. The MICE market continues to improve in comparison to last year, with growth in August (+25%) and YTD (+23%). A vast majority (73%) of repeat travelers visited Hawai`i in August, slightly more than last year (+1%). Group (-13%) and package (-9%) bookings declined during the month as more Japanese are starting to book more non-package (+11%) travel options or book independently (+9%). Despite double-digit declines in honeymoon (-13%) and Arrivals Aug 2011 % YTD 2011 % Arrivals Per Island O`ahu 115, % 720, % * O`ahu only 98, % 608, % Kaua`i 1, % 13, % * Kaua`i only % 2, % Maui County 6, % 39, % * Maui 6, % 38, % * Maui only 1, % 7, % Hawai`i 16, % 100, % *Hawai`i only 4, % 18, % Accommodations Hotel 98, % 644, % Condo 18, % 85, % Timeshare 7, % 27, % Japan Outbound Travel: Aug 2011 For the second consecutive month, Japanese outbound travel increased in August (+9%), strengthening the recovery of the market. Overseas travel is now down less than 1%, with 10.9-million total departures YTD. While recovery remains slow for most destinations, Asian destinations like Singapore (+21%), Taiwan (+15%), Thailand (+26%) and Vietnam (+8%) continue YTD Aug 2011 Arrivals %Change TOTAL 10,885, % Asia Bali, Indonesia 134, % China 2,358, % Hong Kong 816, % Macau 247, % Malaysia***** 86, % Singapore 412, % South Korea 1,996, % Taiwan 803, % Thailand 804, % Vietnam 342, % Oceania Australia 215, % New Zealand 46, % N.Marianas 99, % Arrivals Aug 2011 % YTD 2011 % Purpose of Trip Pleasure 114, % 654, % *Honeymoon 7, % 113, % *Get Married 2, % 32, % *Vacation 106, % 535, % MICE 2, % 31, % Other 4,141 NA 35,779 NA Travel Status First-timers 27.0% -1.3% 39.7% -0.5% Repeaters 73.0% 1.3% 60.3% 0.5% Group Tour 24, % 216, % Package 77, % 541, % No Package 45, % 210, % Independent 41, % 180, % For monthly visitor arrival statistics, visit the Hawai`i Tourism Authority (HTA) website: to prosper. A major factor for this growth is the increasing trend toward last-minute bookings, which benefit closer, more affordable destinations. Long-haul destinations like Europe and North America, which require planning, are suffering from this trend. However, beach destinations like Hawai`i and Guam-Saipan still remain popular and continue to show favorable bookings. YTD Aug 2011 Arrivals %Change Europe Austria* 217, % Croatia* 91, % Denmark* 50, % France**** 899, % Germany* 610, % Spain 664, % UK******* 60, % North America Canada* 104, % Guam 616, % Hawai`i 751, % US Mainland* 680, % Middle East Dubai***** 13, % Turkey 119, % Source: Japanese National Tourist Organization (JNTO) Missing figures: * Aug **Jul *** June **** May *****Apr ******Mar *******Feb ********Jan Includes Sep figures Figures reflect total room nights 2

3 What s Happening: Sep-Oct HTJ Highlights JATA Travel Tradeshow: The annual Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) Tourism Forum and Travel Showcase was held at the Tokyo Big Sight convention venue from Thursday, September 29 through Sunday, October 2, The forum took place on Thursday, October 28 and Friday, October 29, and included discussions on various travel-related topics including inbound and outbound travel trends, market recovery, industry partnerships, airlift and legislation. The Travel Showcase tradeshow kicked off on Friday, September 30 with a trade and media day, including business meeting sessions. The event was open to the general public over the weekend and received approximately 117,300 attendees, 37,700 trade and media and 79,600 general consumers. There were 654 travel companies and organizations participating which participated in the event, with the biggest presence by destinations like Korea, China, Okinawa, Turkey, among others. Despite downsizing its booth to effectively cut costs, the Hawai`i booth maintained its presence as one of the most popular booths at the event. Thank you to the participating booth partners for your hard work at the event: Atlantis Adventures, Big Island Candies, Hawaiian Airlines, Island Style Consulting and Philip Rickard, and KVB. Ten other partners also provided Discover Aloha Sapporo Hawai`i Festival Prior to the JATA Tradeshow, FM North Wave (FMNW) hosted its Discover Aloha Hawai`i Festival event at the Sapporo Factory in Hokkaido on Sunday, September 25. The event is held annually to promote and generate bookings for JAL s charter flights from Sapporo to Hawai`i. In addition to JAL and HTJ, major travel companies including H.I.S. and JTB participated in the HTJ-Delta Air Lines Hawai`i Seminar & Workshop: In response to the recent announcement by Delta Air Lines about its new, seasonal direct flight between Fukuoka and Honolulu, HTJ organized a workshop in Fukuoka on September 29 at Tenjin Crystal Building. HTJ invited participating workshop partners to join the additional workshop for free. Ten companies participated through brochure support, including: Ala Moana Center, Hyatt Resorts Hawai`i, Honolulu Marathon Expo, Prince Resorts Hawai`i, Royal Hawaiian Center, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawai`i, Shinidemitsu Budget Rent & Lease Corp., VIP Trans, Inc., Wahine Half-Marathon and The Walt Disney Company. HTJ collateral was very popular among attendees, particularly the Hawai`i Guide Map and Hawai`i no Hashirikata (How to run in Hawai`i) brochures. Manoa DNA performing at the JATA Travel Showcase 10/3/11 event to promote JAL s charter tours and their own Hawai`i products. Four Hawaiian retail vendors also sold Hawai`i goods at the event. HTJ provided travel materials and entertainment by Manoa DNA and hula dancer Sarah Kamalei Noyle. Approximately 24,000 people attended the one-day event (+22% compared to 2010). The event was also broadcast live on FMNW, reaching approximately 38,190 listeners. Ad value TBA. HTJ Fall Workshops: HTJ held its annual Discover Aloha 2011 Hawai`i Workshops in Nagoya (ANA Crowne Plaza), Osaka (Ritz-Carlton Osaka) and Tokyo (Ritz-Carlton Tokyo) on September 26-28, The half-day events targeted group travel agents and planning/sales travel agents separately to allow participating partners an opportunity to target their sales discussions more effectively. HTJ slightly changed the door prize selection protocol so that partners could select their prize recipients from the business cards received in order to encourage visitation to all booths, and allow partners to obtain new contacts. Twenty-six Hawai`i partners participated in the workshops, including: Access, Inc. (Dollar Rent-a-Car), Alamo Renta-Car, Aqua Hotels & Resorts, Aston Hotels & Resorts, Atlantis Adventures, Budget Rent-a-Car, Disney Destinations International, Hawaiian Airlines, Hertz Rent-a Car, Hilton Hawai`i, Hyatt Resorts Hawai`i, HVCB MICE, KVB, Kualoa Ranch, The Landmark Hotels Group, Marriott Resorts Hawai`i, Outrigger Enterprises Group, OVB, Pacific Beach Hotel, Premium Outlets, Prince Resorts Hawai`i, Sea Life Park, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawai`i, VIP Trans, Inc. Waikiki Trolley and Wet `n Wild. The workshops received more attendees than anticipated: Tokyo: 219 (72 Group / 147 Planning/Sales), Osaka: 146 (42 Group / 104 Planning/Sales), Nagoya: 85 (33 Group / 52 Planning/Sales). their local representatives, including Delta Air Lines, Disney Destinations International, Hawai`i Convention Center, Hilton Hawai`i, Hyatt Resorts Hawai`i, Marriott Resorts Hawai`i, Outrigger Enterprises Group, Pacific Beach Resorts and Prince Hotels. Approximately 92 travel agents attended the event and were eager to learn about the new route and travel opportunities. 3

4 Good News! Hawai`i Media Exposures Girls Traveler: TV Tokyo produced a special program called Girls Traveler featuring Hawai`i in a 75-minute segment on September 25, The show followed Japanese celebrities, Mari Yaguchi and Mai Satoda (former members of the J-Pop group Morning Musume) during their visit to O`ahu. The celebrities visited the Kaneohe Sand Bar, Sea Life Park, The Kahala Hotel & Resort, Ala Moana Center, among other attractions popular with Japanese females. The program resulted in $7.19-million in ad value for Hawai`i. COBS Online, a lifestyle and business website targeting Japanese males around years old launched two webpages dedicated to Hawai`i on September 6, The two-month special features Sports Travel in Hawai`i, particularly on Maui and O`ahu. The Maui feature includes trekking at Haleakala, running routes between Lahaina and Kaanapali and driving around the island. The O`ahu portion featured HTJ s Tabi Spo (sports travel) campaign, including the free, weekly running program in Waikiki, other running courses and events, as well as information on other sports like cycling, horseback riding, surfing and trekking. Thank you to the partners providng advertising and/or sweepstakes partners for this feature: Alamo Rent-a-Car, Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott Waikiki Beach, Destination Resorts Hawai`i, Embassy Suites Waikiki Cycle Sports: With a circulation of 200,000 nationwide, Cycle Sports is one of Japan s most popular media for cyclists and enthusiasts. Its September issue dedicated six-pages to the island of Maui. The article featured the Cycle to the Sun event, including the route, participation and tour packages for the event. Other highlights include Haleakala, Kula, I ao Valley, Maui wineries, as well as HTJ s Tabi Spo campaign. The feature resulted in $116,667 in ad value for Hawai i. Travel Journal: HTJ worked with its trade media partner, Travel Journal, to produce a Hawai`i Supplement in its weekly publication on September 19, The 35- paged supplement featured Romantic Hawai`i, highlighting trends, attractions and travel options on the four major islands, targeting the Japanese wedding and honeymoon market. Ad tie-ups were sponsored by 13 partners including: Aston Hotels & Resorts, Avis Renta a Car, Big Island Visitors Bureau, Budget Rent a Car, Delta Airlines, Dollar Rent a Car, Embassy Suites Waikiki Beach Walk, Hawaiian Airlines, Hertz Rent a Car, Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Polynesian Cultural Center, and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Waikiki. The magazine is distributed to 9,000 travel industry companies and Beach Walk, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Luana Waikiki and Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Travel company links: H.I.S. JALPAK, JTB, KNT, NTA. URL: professionals. An additional 3,000 copies were distributed at the HTJ workshops and JATA events. Did You Know? This section includes snippets of new travel trends and marketing insight to help you align your company s services and offerings with Japanese consumer interests and needs. Smart Phones vs. Mobile Phone: With the launch of Apple s iphone 4S, we thought it was appropriate to take a look at the smart phone market in Japan. Clip from Girls Traveler program: Celebrities Mari Yaguchi and Mai Satoda at Kailua Beach on O`ahu COBS Online Sports Travel in Hawai`i promotional page (L) Top page (R) Top page tour package and sweepstakes deals Travel Journal Romantic Hawai`i supplement (L) cover (R) intro pages Due to advanced technology in Japan, the majority of mobile handsets offered similar capabilities as smart phones, delaying the boom in this trend. However, 4

5 through aggressive campaigns by iphone and recent launch of the advanced Android, smart phones have recently started to become commonplace in the market. According to a survey by MM Research Institute in July 2011, the number of smart phone users in Japan is growing exponentially. Out of the 109-million cell phone subscribers, approximately 9.6-million (8.8%) are signed up for a smart phone contracts in 2011, more than double the amount in 2010 (approx. 3%). This number is expected to jump to 26-million in 2012 (23%) and continue to trend upward to approximately 70-million (50% of the market share) by As far as inventory, smart phones have already begun to saturate retail shops. This year, nearly half (49%) of the number of handsets shipped to Japan were smart phone products. Next year, that share is expected grow up to 60%, dominating mobile phone inventory in Japan. While the trend of having and using two phones (a mobile handset and smart phone) is still quite prevalent among Japanese consumers, many are starting to spend more time on their smart phones. Upcoming Events October KE Sapporo/Fukuoka FAM (O`ahu & Hawai`i/Maui) 19 Overseas Educational Seminar (Tokyo) 26 Buzan HS Hawai`i Educational Seminar (Tokyo) Travel-related searches by smart phones now accounts for approximately 40% of that of mobile phones, accordingly to Google. The most downloaded free travel-related applications are Jalan and Rakuten, both which offer fast and easy search and booking options. Other benefits for travel industry members to develop smart phone capabilities include local navigation, coupon benefits, itinerary management, and social media marketing, according to MM Research Institute. In March 2011, Apple s iphone was the most popular smart phone in the market (50%), followed by Google s Android (40%). The iphone, which recently became available through two mobile network carriers, Softbank and AU, may further grow market share with this development. The Android however is already available through all three major network carriers and continues to gain a competitive edge with enhanced functions catering to Japanese consumers. Therefore, it is hard to tell which will dominate the Japan market into With the continual growth of smart phone users in Japan, it would be wise to start looking into developing informational and booking websites, promotions and offerings catered to the smart phone traveler. November HTJ Hawai`i Specialists FAM (O`ahu & Hawai`i) 17 JHTA Bi-Monthly Meeting (Honolulu) 30 HPCE Seminar (Tokyo) Marketing Opportunities Please see our upcoming marketing opportunities below. If yu are interested in any of these opportunities or would like more information, please aloha@htjapan.jp. Please note the specific marketing opportunity in the subject line. Print Eheu Magazine: Japan Airlines and Lighthouse Hawai`i is producing a quarterly magazine featuring interviews with prominent figures in the Hawaiian community and Japanese nationals living in Hawai`i, Hawaiian history and culture, hot travel topics, special luxury lifestyle features, the neighbor islands, Hawaiian wedding styles, travel and living opportunities for seniors and JAL Online Promotions Hawai i Music Navi: Studio Rim Hawai`i s Music Navi website promotes Hawaiian entertainment and live music venues, ticket promotions and seat reservations to ensure the best service and experience for the Japanese visitor. If your hotel, restaurant or venue offers live entertainment or has an upcoming concert, don t miss this opportunity to be included on this website. NEW: In commemoration of the website s one-year anniversary, Studio Rim is offering an anniversary Travel Vision Hawai`i Special Website: In collaboration with Travel Vision, a major travel trade journal in Japan, HTJ launched a Hawai`i Special Website this year, which features destination information and updates. On July 1, the website launched a promotional webpage called What s New in Hawai`i. If updates. It is distributed JAL s first class and business passengers, JAL Sakura Lounge patrons, and at major Hawai`i golf courses, luxury hotel lounges and advertiser establishments. If you are interested in advertising or providing updates for consideration, please contact Lighthouse Hawai`i at (808) or hi@uslighthouse.com. special campaign from August through September. Partners can purchase a website banner ad and/or offer sweepstakes giveaways. For more information on this opportunity, please the contact below. Website Page Views 10,000 Unique Visitors 1,500 Contact Reiko Rogers reiko@studiorimhawaii.com you have any new openings, products or promotions to offer Japanese visitors, please contact Travel Vision about this FREE opportunity. Please refer to the HTJ opportunity sent on Jun 15, or aloha@htjapan.jp for details. 5

6 Tabi Spo (Sports Travel) Campaign: Do you have any running, hiking/walking, cycling and/or golf amenities, promotions or offerings catered to the Japanese visitor? If so, please us (subject: Tabi Hawai i Hot News: HTJ s Hawai`i Hot News webpage ( receives 1,500 unique visitors HTJ Mail Magazine (merumaga) is ed monthly to 24,500 consumers and 41,800 travel trade professionals in Japan. To be included, send your updates for Podcast Hawai`i Podcast: Explore a new advertorial opportunity with Orbitune s Hawai`i Podcast Discover Aloha Corner. The 20-minute podcast is downloaded weekly by 19,000 well-traveled and tech-savvy years old Japanese. Features include Hawaiian culture, food, music, attractions, events and island updates. Radio J-Wave: Promote Hawai`i s latest travel news and promotions from J-Wave s Waikiki Beach Walk studio. Program Colors of Hawai`i / Music Plus Broadcast Mon-Thu/1:20 1:35pm(JST): Tokyo Reach 284,404 listeners/show FM North Wave: Take advantage of this opportunity to promote your hotel, attraction, restaurant, retail outlet and other updates every week on this radio program: Reach 27,775 listeners/show Profile 40% Male/60% Female ages yrs Collateral Display HTJ Lounge: Does your company offer Japanese language collateral? If so, please feel free to send them to our office (one per company) and we will display them in our office lounge. Our office is conveniently located in the Caretta Shiodome, a retail and restaurant hub in one of Tokyo s bustling business districts. The HTJ lounge is Spo campaign) to be included on our Tabi Spo website. We will refresh the website (gohawaii.jp/tabispo/) on an ongoing basis so keep us updated, and/or let us know if you have any questions on how to join this campaign. per day. Send your updates to aloha@htjapan.jp to be considered for HTJ s most popular webpage. consideration to aloha@htjapan.jp. HTJ s merumaga is available for download on HTJ s website at gohawaii.jp/mail_magazine/general/vol76/ Podcast Program Cost Contact Hawai`i Podcast (20-25 min) Discover Aloha Corner (2-4 min) $500/episode (Incl: interview & website link) Kaori Inagaki: k.inagaki@htjapan.jp Profile 48%:20-30 / 42%:40-50 (60% M / 40% F) Deadline Ongoing Contact Kaori Inagaki: k.inagaki@htjapan.jp Program Corner Broadcast Deadline Contact Island Breeze From Hawai i So Much More Hawai i Every Sunday 9:00-9:15 (JST) Ongoing Kaori Inagaki: k.inagaki@htjapan.jp open 24-hours, 7-days a week and receives 1,500 consumer, trade and media visitors per month. Please us at aloha@htjapan.jp (subject: HTJ Lounge Display) to find out how you can take advantage of this free opportunity. Thank you for reading the HTJ Newsletter. If you have any questions please refer to the list of direct contacts below. Hawai`i Tourism Japan Press Releases, News & Updates, General Inquiries: aloha@htjapan.jp Consumer Marketing Consumer Promotions Events (GW, Aloha Yokohama, JATA): Takashi Kaneko t.kaneko@htjapan.jp Public Relations TV: Takashi Kaneko t.kaneko@htjapan.jp Magazine, Radio: Kaori Inagaki: k.inagaki@htjapan.jp Newspaper & Online: Yumiko Iwase y.iwase@htjapan.jp Website & Collateral HTJ PC & Mobile Website, Collateral Materials: Yuka Sawada y.sawada@htjapan.jp Trade Marketing Workshops, Seminars, FAM Tours, Airline Coops, Sales Calls Mitsuteru Hada m.hada@htjapan.jp Reina Okamoto: reina.okamoto@htjapan.jp Trade Media, Mail Magazine, Educational Travel Tomoko Kenmochi t.kenmochi@htjapan.jp Campaigns & Strategic Development, Reports & Newsletters Lea Okudara l.okudara@htjapan.jp Administration Accounting: Mieko Saito m.saito@htjapan.jp 6

7 Hawai`i Project Coordinator Marketing Partner Coordination (FAM tours, Events, Other Promotions) & Hawai`i Sales Calls Keiko Fujita a.link LLC President: Eric Takahata (Honolulu) VP Marketing/PR: Mitsue Varley (Honolulu) VP Sales/MCI: Toshi Saegusa (Tokyo) 2012 ATMP: Opportunities: If you would like to access past HTJ newsletters, please visit the HTA website link below and click on Hawai`i Tourism Japan Newsletter hyperlink in the left Related Downloads column: 7