Japan prepares for postpandemic return to business
AS JAPAN GEARS UP TO HOST THE OLYMPIC GAMES ( SEE ARTICLE ON P . 21 ), CMW ASKED THE JAPANESE NATIONAL TOURISM OFFICE ( JNTO ) ABOUT PROSPECTS FOR BUSINESS EVENTS BOUNCING BACK AND WE TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT KYOTO AND OSAKA
November , 2020 , JNTO survey of 2,000 Japanese associations which asked how their meetings ( both domestic and international ) were affected by Covid-19 had produced some mixed results ( see box right ), but clearly showed major hybrid events were taking place in the second half of 2020 . These events included the One Young World Caucus ( Tokyo ) and ICCA ’ s Asia-Pacific Summit ( Yokohama ). And hybrid events booked in for later this year include the World Conference on Earthquake Engineering in September ( Sendai ), and the UIA Roundtable in October ( Tokyo ). With international travel still largely closed , the hybrid model is likely to be the most popular for the short term at least .
JNTO is hopeful the traditionally high demand for incentive trips to Japan from neighbouring countries in Asia will recover quickly after the pandemic and the agency is providing frequent updates and online seminars aimed at the business events industry so that it can hit the ground running once travel is possible again , a spokesperson tells CMW .
JNTO considers Japan ’ s great strength when bidding for international conferences to be its community of leading researchers across many disciplines . And , if the pandemic may have dampened researchers ’ enthusiasm for hosting international conferences , JNTO is offering support to local conference hosts through seminars and other initiatives .
“ For incentives , we believe that recovery will be quickest for short-haul trips from Asia , where infection numbers are comparatively low . When the end of the pandemic is in sight , we will support the return of air travel and step up promoting Japan as a safe and secure travel destination , as well as providing information on incentive travel programmes that are adapted to the new normal .” JNTO notes .
JNTO SURVEY , NOVEMBER 2020 AMONG 2,000 JAPANESE ASSOCIATIONS :
• Meetings cancelled : 27 %
• Meetings taken online : 26 %
• Meetings delivered as hybrid : 19 %
• Meetings postponed : 16 %
• Meetings held as planned : 6 %
Above : Kyoto , a former capital , puts culture at the centre of its conference appeal
Left : Bright lights , big city : Dotonbori , Osaka
ICCA ’ s recent Association Meeting Needs – ICCA Survey 2021 has noted the need for meeting face-to-face has not only remained , but intensified .
This has been borne out online in Japan , where conference bids for future years have been made virtually and JNTO says the format led to multiple successful conference bids in fiscal year 2020 , including The 2024 International Congress of Entomology , for which up to 3,000 delegates are expected in Kyoto ; The 41st International Conference on Thermoelectrics in 2023 ); and XXXVI International Congress of the International Academy of Pathology , Fukuoka , in 2026 . It was the Japan ’ s third attempt to win that congress , which will involve 2,500 delegates .
Academic ambassadors played a big role in winning those bids and the Japan Conference Ambassador Programme , founded in 2013 , involves 70 professionals serving as ambassadors , appointed by JNTO .
The programme provides both financial and technical assistance to its ambassadors from the initial bidding stage through to the planning and hosting of the conference .
In 2020 JNTO collated information on 16 Japanese outstanding cities , focusing on intellectual capital in the form of academic and industrial clusters and compiling the results into a directory : Japan : Competitiveness in Academia and Industry – Introduction of Excellent Cities , available as
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