2,000 runners join int'l marathon in tsunami-hit Thai tourist spot
July 18, 2006About 2,000 runners from several countries participated in an international marathon in Phuket on Sunday to help boost tourism in the southern Thai province, which was hit hard by a massive tsunami in December 2004, organizers said. Former Japanese Olympic female marathon runner Akemi Masuda and Thailand's top marathoner Boonchoo Jandecha were among the runners at the 2006 Phuket International Marathon, the organizers said.
Keidanren calls for updating tourism law
July 18, 2006Japan should update its tourism law, which was established more than 40 years ago, to increase the number of foreign tourists and stimulate domestic travel as well, the Japan Business Federation said in a report Wednesday. Japan's biggest business lobby, better known as Nippon Keidanren, said the nation needs to introduce a new law promoting tourism with unified goals and measures to be implemented across a broader area than at present. Training more experts on tourism at national and local government levels is also necessary, it said.
Record number of Japanese to go abroad during Golden Week: JTB
July 18, 2006A record number of Japanese are expected to go abroad during this year's Golden Week holiday season from late April to early May, JTB Corp. said Thursday. An estimated 565,000 people are likely to leave Japan for overseas tours between April 26 and May 6, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier for an all-time high since JTB began the survey in 1969, the biggest Japanese travel agency said.
APEC eyes direct flights to members' World Heritage sites
July 18, 2006The 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will consider opening direct flight routes to their cultural World Heritage sites from major APEC cities during a meeting of tourism ministers slated for October in Vietnam, APEC sources said Monday. During the first meeting of senior officials of APEC economies held in March in Hanoi, Vietnam, this year's host country, suggested tourism cooperation measures such as simplifying travel procedures, facilitating connecting tours and the direct flights to the cultural heritage sites.
Anti-Japan demonstrations dent overseas travel
July 18, 2006Rising anti-Japan sentiments in China and South Korea since May last year have apparently prompted Japanese travelers to avoid visiting these two countries, the government said in a report released Tuesday. The 2005 white paper on tourism said the number of Japanese visiting overseas destinations last year rose 3.4 percent from the previous year to 17.4 million, but growth was affected after May 2005 when Japan-South Korea relations were strained over a territorial row and China saw a surge in anti-Japan demonstrations.
Robust tourism growth faces challenges, U.N. warns
July 18, 2006The sustainability of the Asian tourism industry relies on how well the countries are coping with natural disasters, and political, economic and health-related uncertainties, the United Nations World Tourism Organization said Tuesday. The Asia-Pacific region has been a magnet for tourists, with a growth rate of 7 percent in 2005, compared with a global growth of 5.5 percent, UNWTO Secretary General Francesco Frangialli said.