Japanese travel news source

1. Travel Vision (Japanese only)

Daily mail magazine is also available.

2. Travel Journal (Japanese only)

Weekly magazine is also available.

There used to be this English website called shallwetravel.com, but it seems they closed the site.

Social Media

Social Media is becoming one of the major tools for company's public relations.

 

According to the social media workshop hosted by San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau, twitter is a perfect tool for destination marketing. Social media allows people to share experience and story, get and provide travel advice, etc.

Here are some interesting statistics on travelers' behavior in terms of social media:

• 20% use mobile/ PDA to look for travel info 
• 23% use google earth to gather travel info
• 26.7% use local CVB site
• 19% use social media

If your target is around the people in their 20's to 40's, social media would be a good to tool to reach because:

• 57% of those who are in the age of 25-34 use social media
• 30% of those who are in the age of 35-44 use social media

Addition to twitter, facebook and google earth, there are a couple of things you can utilize:

• "official" blog- being official is important
• you tube - keep your video 2-3 mins
• wikipedia
• flickr
• panoramio
• twitpic

In flickr, there are 61,000 San Diego photos, and 31,000 comic con photos. You might want to check out "GuessWhereSD" on flickr.

Don't be overscripted. People sense that.

Here is another statistics: 10% of the twitter users are responsible for 90% of the traffic. Intersting.

There are some other social medias such as myspace, but the number of users is decreasing and the users are mainly teenagers. (If your target is that generation, myspace can be your tool.)

How often tweet? If you are a destination, 4-6 times a day, if you are a hotel, maybe twice a day. You might want to "retweet", meaning referring to some other's tweet.


If there are some upsides, there are some downsides too:

• You can't measure how much does it generate the revenue
• Social media can be a place where people criticize/ complain about your product/ service

Here is interesting article 4 reasons to shut up on twitter. Please take five minutes to read through.


If you are interested in overseas market, you might want to utilize the local social media. It is not still common that non-individuals use social media as a marketing tool, you might want to research beforehand if it is effective to use.

Social media in Japan: mixi (http://mixi.jp/)

Social media in Korea: cyworld (http://cyworld.co.kr/)

Consumer behavior- South Korea

Here I would like to share some interesting findings about South Korean consumers.

I conducted a little research sending an email to my 10 friends in South Korea asking if they know the Korean TV drama actor Gyu-Woon Jung, the California’s new celebrity ambassador. What I found it intresting is that all my friends who wrote me back said that they got online and checked who the guy was and which dramas he was on, regardless of whether or not they know the actor.

They are tech savvy and light-footed in terms of web world. This can be a tip for how to draw their attention to your destination and drow them into your website or social media information.

The most difficult thing in our lives

I had my hair cut the other day, and my hair cutter told me "the most difficult thing in our lives is lead an exciting life."

Is your life exciting?

Job opening in PR @CTTC

CTTC, California Travel and Tourism Commissions, is looking for a PR director.

Please check the info if interested.

Visiting LA

I visited LA over the weekend.

The purpose of this trip was 1)to meet the officials of Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) LA office, 2)to meet the Marketing Manager of KTO Osaka office, 3)to meet a friend of mine who is planning package tours for a Japanese travel agency, and 4)to visit tourist sites in greater LA.

My biggest failure in this trip was that my camera had a shortage of battery. It is a pity that I can't show the people and the scenery I saw in this trip.

1) Korea Tourism Organization LA office

KTO is the government owned organization to promote Korean tourism. They are, of course, focusing on outbound tourism; however, they are a great source of information.

Korea Plaza in KTO LA Office


First I met Myongsun Kim, the Executive Director. We talked in his office about his office's current strategy, issues and events as well as my current activities. We also talked about my bosses and co-workers in my previous job. He knew most of them. We talked in Korean and he said he would recognize me as a native Korean speaker if I won't tell him. Since I came here in California, the opportunity to speak Korean is more limited than the times I was working with KTO. It was good to know that my Korean was still good.

Then, the Director Kim introduced me the other officials.

Kijung Jung, Director
In Sook Lee, Deputy Director
(The official under the Deputy Director wasn't in office then)
Jennifer Goger, Marketing Coordinator
Amber Lee, Marketing Coordinator

I also took a tour of Korea Plaza where Korean tourism and culture are exhibited. There I met Sienna Woo, the receptionist. She is in charge of the customer service.

In the office building, there are four organizations located. KOCCA (Korea Creative Contents Agency) was one of them. There I met Dan Lew, Marketing Director, and Ellie Hong, the Admin & Account Manager.

2) Marketing Manager of Osaka office

Hiroko Tanaka, the Marketing Manager of KTO Osaka, and I have worked together for the last 6 years in seminar, Japan mission, consumer events and travel trade marts. Even though the number of flights have been decreased due to JAL has been cancelled some of the flight operation, Osaka is still the second biggest city in Japan and it holds a large number of travelers , and KIX is Osaka's international airport. Hiroko and I exchanged current information in the industry.

3) Friend in the industry

I met my friend in Redondo beach where she lives in. We talked about the industry having dinner at a nice diner in Manhattan beach. She is in charge of planning package tours, especially cruise trips.

4) tourist sites in Greater LA

Getty Center- America's "Castle"
South Bay - the night view from PV (Palo Verdes) is AMAZING

Again, I wish the battery were still remain. I learned a lesson.

Japan market is still a big chunk

People are focusing on China and Korea market and that is a good strategy to expand niche market. However, what I would like to emphasize is that Japan is still one of the biggest chunks of the global market. For instance,

• Japan has a population of 127 million and is the third-largest economy in the world, with a national GDP of USD 4.2 trillion.
• Japan's outbound travel market is currently flat at 17 million outbound passengers per year, but it is projected by the Japan Association of Travel Agents to increase to 20 million by 2010.
• Japanese travellers remain among the world's biggest spenders per person during their travels, making the Japanese market of critical importance for destinations seeking a high-spend/high-value visitor.
• The Japanese travel market is highly fragmented with over 800 wholesale tour operators and more than 8,200 travel agencies (agency networks, business travel, online travel, etc.) throughout the nation.
• Many Japanese agencies create and sell their own packages to cater to niche markets and special interests which are particular to Japan.

For California tourism, Japan is the second biggest market overseas.
In this slow economy, it is natural for us to struggle to gain more market share and gain more revenue by trying new stuff. But nobody wants to make mistakes that starbucks has recently made. In other words, we need to be true to the basic and keep attract the current major customers.

Japan might be one of the hardest countries in the world to do business because their business style and customer needs are elusive. They accept lots of grey zone. It might be hard to guess what they are thinking. From my experience, the essence for success in Japan market is cusotmer service, compassion, and trust.

Japan is hurting economically just as the U.S. but at the same time it is true that there are 8 million baby-boomers receiving retirement bonus and their wives (!) are seeking the destination for their next trip. What I like about the tourism industry in Asia is that the more storytelling I offer, the more people get attracted and make a move.

Everyone in the world knows where the U.S. is, even kids and elderies. But they might not exactly know the U.S as their postential tourism destionation. All we want is their paradigm shift.


By the way, I enjoy reading Japan Intercultural Consulting's blog. Their topics are so get-to-the-point. You will get the big picture of how Japanese market and the Japanese business people are as well as Japanese business culture you will experience in business occasion.

Korea Market is hot

If you are seeking a niche market in the world, I would recommend South Korea market.

As you see in the USA Today's article Hawaii tourism rejoice over S. Korea visa waiver, Hawaii has already started to lure Korean tourists by setting up Korean language website.

According to U.S. department of state website, currently 35 countries participate in the visa waiver program. S. Korea is a recent participant, reached agreement in October 2008 and enforced in the following month.

S. Koreans have been good customers for Europe, Asian beaches and Japan: I never had a day in Japan without seeing Korean tourists wandering in the city, and I can't count how many of my Korean friends and co-workers told me they had a good time in Australia, Bali, and Switzerland.  However, they didn't visit the U.S. unless they are international students because of the hassle to obtain the tourism visa, even though they feel close to the country. South Korea has culturally influence from the U.S.  and people are easy to absorb the U.S. cultural trends. They seem to see the U.S. positively.

Here is S. Korean market portfolio:

• the world's 10th largest economy with a GDP of 18,375 USD (2007) and 49.2 million of population
• in terms of outbound travel, Koreans enjoy much time travelling overseas, due to increased leisure time and high spending power.
• since 1988, Korea has seen double-digit growth in outbound travel, with one out of every four Koreans travelling overseas in 2007.
• While package holidays are dominant in Korea, an increasing number of Koreans are choosing customised tour packages and FIT-type holidays.

Then it would be easy to attract Korean tourists? Just like Japanese or other Asian market, Korea has the unique business culture and preference of trip, meaning you can't simply tap into the market with your domestic marketing skills. Their hierarchy standard is much thicker than Japan. In the last 6 years of working in Korea tourism industry, one of the major things that I learned a lot would be their style of business and their preference towards their ideal trip as well as the key contacts in the industry.

Also, language could be a barrier when you make business with Koreans. Of course they learn English at school but only a small number of them can speak good English or they feel anxiety speaking it in business occasion. It would be a big plus if you speak Korean to proceed business. Human relationship is truly important just like other Asian cultures.

It might sound a little difficult to capture Korean tourists, but it is not. The U.S has a variety of attractive tourism resources for them, and they feel close to the country because of the history and that many of them have relatives in the country. If you market the target right, the result will be seen before long.

Tapping into Chinese market

In any industries, people are trying to tap into Chinese market because of its enormous size and the rapid growth. This growth is seen in tourism as follows:

• China is the world's second-largest economy and the largest travel market in Asia.
• the number of Chinese travelling abroad over the past several years, reaching 45 million outbound travellers in 2008.
• by 2015, the World Tourism Organisation projects that China will send 100 million outbound travellers overseas each year.
• Less than 2.4% of China's population has travelled overseas, leaving 97% of the market untapped - this suggests huge potential for growth.
• On average, Chinese spend $5,000 on a tour to Europe and $6,000 on trips to the US, making Chinese the number-one spenders per capita for many destinations.
• China is currently ranked seventh in travel spending in the world, but is expected to grow to become the world's second-largest market in terms of total travel spending by 2015.

But wait a second, is it that easy to gain Chinese customers to your destination?

I understand Chinese consumer behaviors are elusive. I have observed a flock of Chinese travelers both rich and not-so-rich. They are totally different from American consumers or other Asian consumers.

The way they do business is also different. Luckily, I have friends in China, and without their help, it would be really difficult for me to deal with China market even though I visited China a couple of time and knew a working knowledge of Chinese language. Human connection is quite important in Asia, and in China, the importance to know people is absolute and extreme.

I am taking a marketing class at UCSD Extension, taught by instructor Kelly Chen. In her class, we discussed Chinese consumer behaviors.

What's new with the Chinese consumer
The McKinsey Quarterly

According to this article, Chinese consumers are...

• price sensitive. sensitive to value for money
• less loyal to thier preferred brands
• wary of untried products
• make purchase decisions at the last minute
• rely on recommendations from family and friends
• television advertising is weakening even though is still a prerequisite for entering the market
• print ads are losing ground
• sponsorships and the internet are becoming more influential- shows corporate strength
• 30% of consumers trust only Chinese brands

According to the survey in the article, out of 41 brand managers in China, only 7 percent said they had a good inderstanding of the market, while the majority, 85 percent, professed some understanding but with " a lot... that I still don't know."

Do you understand Chinese market?

News: Tribal tourism efforts pay off

Indian Country Today
Tribal tourism efforts pay off

Speaking of Native American in tourism, it would be casinos that people usually think of. Each Indian reservation has a casino to generate revenue and jobs in the community.

This article introduces how lucrative this Native American tourism in Arizona is and the demographics of the visitors.

The word "casino" reminds me of Korean  market, because they are passionate about gambling. In the country, gambling is prohibited except at the casino called Kangwon Land in the mountaneous area 4 hours drive from Seoul, the capital city of South Korea. I have visited the casino as a familiarization tour a couple of times, and surprisingly the Las Vegas sized casino is literally filled with people gambling even on weekdays.

I took some of my native Korean friends to the Del Mar Horseracing, and they are totally hooked up. Later on that week, they visited the racing track again to bet some more. On the other hand, I as a Japanese felt a bit guilty spending money on gambling.

Asian is often categorized in a single group, but their needs and wants are pretty different from the culture.

Korean customers might be the savior for the Indian casinos.

My farewell party

At a hotel banquet..

People in the industry held a farewell party for me. To the party, surprisingly, 90 people from travel industry, media, goodwill envoys and more showed up. Thanks a lot, everyone!

Kim, Man-Jin, the Director of Korea Tourism Organization

Michihiko Fujii, the Deputy Director of the Local Newspaper

Choi, Baek-Woon, the Director of Korean Air




received a bunch of flowers


My last speech

It was a Thursday evening in the early of this year. The party has started at 6pm. People must have been super busy with their tasks. (It is very common for them to work overtime.) I was grateful for that they came over to see me.

Receiving lots of supports from Asia, I am now in San Diego proceeding my way.

Panelist - career, life and me

Luckily, as the destination marketing became successful in Japan, I was blessed with more opportunities to share my career/ life experience in public.

This panel discussion was about work-life balance, which is still developing area in Japan.

Avanti- June 2008

The coordinator was Ms. Murayama, the president and chief editor of a well-known free magazine for working women. The two panelists are both successful professionals and the owners of their own lives. It was a pleasure to have this panel discussion with them.

It is wonderful that the attendees talked to me after the session saying they encouraged by my story.

Advice to collage students on job hunting

My career story was covered by a Japanese university's news letter.

You can find this article online: Article from Seinan Spirit, Winter, 2005

As some pieces of advice to the collage students, I commented

• Finding a job is NOT a goal, but a process to reach your CAREER GOAL.
  Also, make sure to define your LIFE GOAL, have your career goal in line with your life goal.
• Don't be stuck in the existing sense of value because you are UNIQUE.
  Be creative and flexible.  
• If there is something INTERESTS you, just apply!
• Any experience cannot be waste.
  Try new things that interests you. IT WON'T KILL YOU!
  
  

Coverage in South Korea

My activity for the destination marketing was covered by Chongsa-choron, Korea Tourism Organization's news letter.

KTO newsletter article (pdf file, Korean language)

It is about my experience as a representative of the overseas office.

Be friends with Google News

Here I will share one of the extremely useful tools I make fully use of in the field: GOOGLE NEWS.

The smartness about google news is you can actually add custom section, meaning you can gather the latest news that includes key word you choose such as tourism, name of your destination, etc. You don't need to flip over newspaper to find the news you would be intersted in. Smart tool, indeed.

When I was a marketing manager at Tourism Gangwon Province of South Korea, I created two sets of news pages: 1) in Japanese (target market) with the key word "Gangwon" (the name of the destination) and in Korean (destionation) with tourism. I covered news on the industry and the destination in both countries. I used the news as ice braker in the initiation of meeting, etc. People will listen to you if you start sharing the latest news that they haven't checked.

All you need to do is to go to google news and log in, and check the custom section with your favorite key word. This is a good tool to know which medium covered your destination as well as to catch up with the news in the industry.

If you are a tourism student and want to know what is going on in the industry, start setting the custom page with the key word tourism, and try to read one or two articles a day. You will get a broad idea of the industry.

This tool is quite useful for anybody. If you like Jessica Alba, for instance, you can gather her latest news too! Enjoy!!

How to drive traffic to your blog

I wrote about blog as an effective way to market your destination online. Once you set up your blog, the next challenge would be to figure out how to drive traffic to your blog.

FYI, here are some hints:

1. Book:  The Findability Formula by Heather Lutze
   
2. Websites: 16 ways to drive traffic to your blog
                   44 ways to drive traffic to your blog
                   Driving traffic to a new blog

Hope this helps!

Blog- Great tool for online marketing

One of our issues in our CVB was to reach the end users (customers) with our up-to-date information. So what I suggested is to establish a blog and come across fresh information with attractive pictures and useful information. It is a pain for customers to gather information that they really want. Those who order tour guide brochure or call the office for inquiry are only a part of the whole market. To reach potential customers and to enable them to reach our information, I kept a tourism blog.

Upgraded one: http://gangwondo.cocolog-nifty.com/
Former one: http://gangwondo.spaces.live.com/

*Both are written in Japanese due to the target market.

Good things about blog are 1)you can offer written pictures, videos and other documents as well as written information, 2)you can have two-way communications with customers, and 3)you can check the demographics of visitors to the site.

The matter is what to show in the blog. I know lots of CVBs are now utilizing blog like a trend; however, mostly what they show is what they want to tell them, not WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW. Your blog must be something that customers want to visit again and again to check to make them feel traveling to your destination. So what I did was to post the information that was inquired by a couple of customers. If several consumers want to know about the information, probably a large number of people are anxious to know about it.

I also shared the package tour information or the link to the tour to give customers chance to actually join the tour and visit our destination. For customers, gathering tour information is a lot of work. As a CVB, we obtain a variety of information and we should share those with the public as much as possible, for the sake of customer service. Customer's convenience to access to the information may reflect the convenience to access the destination.

This medium is also useful to communicate with the professionals in the industry. With new postings information, I would send mail magazine with the links. It played a role as a news letter.

And now, I am using this tool to advertise myself!

Don't forget to do a bit more of extra work to earn more visitors to your blog: when people google the name of your destination, your site should be on top of the result. Try to use bullet words and your destination name with the word "tourism".

Also, it would be useful if you set a search engine to seek the information in your blog. You can also visit some blogs and web pages on your destination owned by customers. They will be happy if you leave some comments and they would visit your blog. Some of them will link your blog. This way you will be able to earn more viewers.

My first mission: Overseas office establishment

Korea Plaza                                        My office in Japan

The first mission I was engaged in was to establish overseas office in Japan. As a single staff in Japan, first I proceeded tasks to physical office establishment. I communicated with the officer in the headquarter to learn their wants and needs about the new office, I had meetings with constructors and office suppliers. It was a unique experience to choose the office's phone number, decide the design of letter head and my own business cards.

With the completion of the new office, I started to prepare for the office opening reception party. 150 people were invited to the party. The participants were travel agents, wholesalers, carriers and land operators, intimate customers, goodwill envoys, consuls and the local government officers. The party was held in a huge banquet at a upscale hotel in the city, and I had a couple of meetings with the hotel people.

Along with the party, I conducted everything relating to the mission's visit to Japan such as press conference, hotel bookings, appointments to the local government, newspapers, and major travel agencies.

Although the staff at Korea Tourism Organization Japan Branch supported me, I don't remember how I handled all these task. Believe it or not, I was doing this as a part-timer because at that time I was taking some classes at university.

About this blog

I have always dreamed of having this blog. With nearly seven years of experience in international tourism promotion, I have gained tons of precious experiences, know-hows and networks. My achievement includes the growth in the number of tourists from 70,000 in 2002 to 430,000 in 2008. I am sure my experiences are very unique and rich, and that generated my know-hows. It is a pity just to keep this all in me. I would like to share all I have here.

This blog is written to 1)share my experiences and know-hows in international tourism field, 2)record my achievements as a tourism marketing manager, 3)discuss current issues in the field especially in California and East Asia market. I hope this blog will be help of the readers.

Post dates are set when each incident happened.