Macau eyes Japan tourism revival

With Japanese tourism still recovering from the March earthquake and tsunami Macau is hoping to attract more visitors from the country through incentive trips and student tours.
Last week the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) organised two events in Tokyo, aimed at getting companies and schools to choose the territory as a travel destination.
On Wednesday more than 60 travel agents and event organisers attended a seminar where MGTO spoke about Macau’s student tourism offers.
Also on August 3 there was a “Meet in Macau” reception organised in cooperation with Japan Travel Bureau, the country’s biggest travel agency. MGTO introduced the newest products to about 120 travel operators and incentive tourism planners.
The delegation led by MGTO deputy director, Helena de Senna Fernandes, also met with representatives from the Japan Association of Travel Agents and Nippon Travel Agency, the oldest in Japan, in Tokyo.
In the first half of this year Macau welcomed less than 180,000 Japanese visitors, down 10.8 percent from the same period of 2010. Japan is still the territory’s fourth most important market when it comes to inbound tourists.
The overall number of Japanese visitors abroad declined after the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster.