Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) hosted ‘Japan Luxury Showcase 2025,’ a BtoB event for global travel companies that have luxury travel customers. 40 buyers from 16 countries, more than 32 buyers last year, joined the event, and 45 domestic sellers met them for business discussions.
Before the event in Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, buyers separately attended FAM tours to Nikko/Hachimandaira, Hokuriku, Matsumoto/Takayama, Ise Shima, Nara/Wakayama, Setouchi, Unzen/Aso, Okinawa and Golden Route from Tokyo to Kyoto.
How does JNTO attract luxury travelers?
While inbound travelers to Japan have steadily been increasing, the ratio of luxury travelers who spend 1 million yen or more accounts for 1% only of the total, and the spent amount by them just for 14% of the total. JNTO launched a high-value travel promotion division in 2023 in order to encourage luxury travelers to visit local regions and to spend more money.
As one of the efforts, JNTO focuses on ‘connection’ with travel sectors both domestically and globally. In Japan, JNTO tries to build a strong network with domestic suppliers to collect luxury travel contents from them and to encourage them to attend business meetings, such as Japan Luxury Showcase, ILTM or global luxury travel consortiums’ events.
Globally, JNTO continues strengthening connections with global luxury travel consortiums, such as Virtuoso or Serandipians, and sending information to luxury consumers directly and to a variety of membership organizations.
JNTO explained that buyers to Japan Luxury Showcase are basically members of global luxury travel consortiums, while adventure travel, which is also regarded as a luxury travel market, is based on Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), JNTO recognizes that markets are different between them, though contents they look for are sometimes overlapped.
今年の「Japan Luxury Showcase」は「マンダリンオリエンタル東京」で開催された。
JR Kyushu Cruise Train joined ‘Japan Luxury Showcase’ for the first time
JR Kyushu Cruise Train ‘Nanatsuboshi’ in Kyushu joined ‘Japan Luxury Showcase’ for the first time to let travel companies in English-speaking countries know what the cruise train is. According to Hiroshi Tanaka, Deputy Manager Cruise Train Headquarters, 80% to 90% of all international passengers come from Taiwan. He revealed that they don’t have much PR opportunities to U.S., Europe or Australia.
Global buyers asked a lot about English-speaking crews and how to book the cruise train at the business meetings, according to Cruise Train Headquarters,
Nanatsuboshi accommodates 10 luxury rooms in seven cars, out of which two to three rooms are usually available for inbound travelers, depending booking status. It may be possible in the future for foreign travel companies to charter the cruise train in a different way from regular operations.
JR Kyushu considers organizing FAM tours for global travel companies or media on off-duty days.
