Japan tourism agency plans to put up Philippines office

MANILA, Philippines — The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) plans to set up shop in the Philippines.

JNTO executive director Daisuke Tonai said Japan sees the Philippines as a promising market, with the number of Japanese visitors steadily rising in the past two years.

He attributed the increasing visitor arrivals to the easing up of requirements for tourist visa applications since 2014.

Last year, the Philippines was Japan’s ninth top source market with a total of 424,121 visitors.

The number of Filipinos visiting Japan increased by 21.8 percent from January to August this year. 

Tonai expects this figure to further increase with JNTO’s planned Manila office as this will boost communication efforts for travel agencies, airline companies, media and consumers.

The new JNTO office is also seen to boost trade and investment relations between Japan and the Philippines.

“JNTO’s Manila Office will make it easier for tourists to access information and satisfy the needs for travel to Japan. By expanding inbound business to Japan, investors are expected to increase investment opportunities for related businesses,” Tonai said.

“Given the goal of the JNTO Manila office of increasing Filipino visitors to Japan, it is expected that Japan-bound travel business in the airline industry will expand by way of direct flights, group travel, etc. between Japan and the Philippines,” he added.

Japan targets 40 million visitors by year 2020, and 60 million by 2030.