JR Tokai, Local Govts Bracing For Tough Talks Over Maglev Route

TOKYO (Nikkei)--With cost estimates for the proposed maglev train line between Tokyo and Nagoya have been released, Central Japan Railway Co. will now begin selecting the route and stations, a process that is likely to elicit impassioned pleas from localities that want a maglev line station.

Central Japan Railway, or JR Tokai, presented the figures for three possible routes to a Liberal Democratic Party selection committee Thursday.

The cheapest option would be the most direct route passing through the Japanese Southern Alps, with the cost estimated at 5.1 trillion yen. This line would be 286km long and have a travel time of 40 minutes.

A route running through the city of Suwa would be the costliest, at 5.74 trillion yen. The Nagano prefectural government is pushing for this option, which would be about 60km longer than the direct route, but JR Tokai said buying up residential land for the line will likely be difficult. The travel time between Tokyo and Nagoya would be seven minutes longer than with the direct route.

The third route would cut through Kiso Valley and cost an estimated 5.63 trillion yen. It would be 334km long and have a travel time of 46 minutes.

JR Tokai plans to release additional estimates for maintenance costs and passenger demand for each of the routes, possibly by the end of the month.

(The Nikkei June 19 morning edition)

Read more...

Japan keeps Anne of Green Gables close to its heart.

Canada promotes new movie, a love story rooted in a Canadian classic, to boost travel to PEI.

The Japanese love affair with all things Anne of Green Gables shows no sign of abating. Following on successful campaigns in 2008, Tourism Prince Edward Island is to promote a new movie, “Looking for Anne,” in Japanese cities and towns for the next twelve months.

The story centres on Anri. Her grandmother, a huge fan of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s beloved novel, has just passed away and Anri decides to visit Prince Edward Island. There, she discovers that granny was in love with a Canadian soldier when she was young. So Anri decides to track him down, meeting many locals along the way. The movie is a joint Canadian/Japanese production of Zuno Films and Grand Jeté.

The film comes hot on the heels of Before Green Gables (Konnichiwa, Anne),the animated TV series based on Budge Wilson’s prequel penned in 2008. Here, the tale focuses on Anne’s travails at Nova Scotia orphanages and foster homes before she lands at Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert’s farm in Avonlea.

Anne of Green Gables continues to have a powerful resonance with the Japanese, as shown by the 70% surge in visitor numbers to Prince Edward Island in 2008 the year of the book’s centenary.

Read more...

Travel Agents To Make Push Against Y500 Airport Security Fee

TOKYO (Nikkei)--The Japan Association of Travel Agents will urge the Ministry of Transport and Tourism to reconsider the planned introduction of the so-called passenger security service fee at Narita international airport.

Narita International Airport Corp. plans to charge 500 yen for each passenger leaving the country or making a transit, starting Nov. 16. The fee is meant to cover costs for installing high-performance detection devices and providing security services at the airport. Such expenses have ballooned after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S.

The association will ask the ministry to forgo the fee or delay the start date to next spring.

Travel agencies are marketing flights and tours through March 2010. But since pamphlets do not mention the fee, they must alert customers about the additional charge by mail or other forms of notice, thus raising their costs.

The organization also cites the difficulty of convincing customers to pay the fee if they have already purchased tours departing on or after Nov. 16.

(The Nikkei Oct. 17 morning edition)

Read more...

Kansai Travel Agencies Spooked By JAL Rehab Plan

OSAKA (Nikkei)--Travel agencies in the Kansai region of western Japan are not at all happy about the rehabilitation plans for Japan Airlines Corp., as the envisaged reductions of JAL flights from the area would play havoc with the overseas package tours they plan to offer.

The airline's plan as of September was to end or suspend service for nine international and five domestic routes from Kansai International Airport near Osaka, as well as end services from Kobe Airport.

However, a draft rehabilitation plan announced Tuesday by the task force under Transport Minister Seiji Maehara calls for JAL to also reduce flights bound for resort destinations.

The announcement came as a shock to tour organizers that plan to launch package tours in spring and beyond.

For international routes, travel agencies would take a greater hit from the reduction of JAL flights to Southeast Asia than they would from fewer flights to South Korea and China.

The airline plans to stop direct flights from Kansai International to Singapore by the end of fiscal 2009. Currently, Singapore Airlines and JAL each offer one direct flight a day from Kansai International to Singapore. When JAL ends such flights, the number of seats available for the route would be halved, which could force travel agencies to arrange chartered flights or use indirect routes for their tours. Indirect routes are not only less convenient, they also tend to be more expensive than direct flights.

Furthermore, there are concerns in the industry that the disappearance of a competitor on certain routes could cause the remaining airline to increase ticket prices.

Another route JAL plans to pull up stakes on is the one linking Kansai International and Denpasar on the Indonesian island of Bali, a move that would happen by the end of fiscal 2011.

The carrier has been flying to Denpasar from the Kansai airport almost daily throughout the year, while Garuda Indonesia offers three flights a week between the destinations.

Package tours to Bali are relatively inexpensive and one of the more popular products. However, fewer flights may cause travel agencies to lose opportunities to organize package tours during the summer-vacation and other high seasons.

Another blow to travel agencies would be the planned abolition of JAL flights from Kansai International to Hanoi -- flights with which the Japanese carrier has a code-sharing arrangement with Vietnam Airlines.

The airline's planned withdrawal from Kobe Airport is also a cause of concern among travel companies. Around half of the morning flights out of the city are operated by JAL, which services Tokyo, Sapporo and Okinawa.According to Sanyo Air Service Co., a Kobe-based travel agency, the loss of morning flights would be painful for travel agencies, because such flights enable them to arrange tours that help travelers make the most of the day.

-- Translated from an article by Nikkei Staff Writer Yoshie Jingu

(The Nikkei Marketing Journal Oct. 16 edition)

Read more...

Japan Tourism Agency moves up goal of attracting 20 million foreign visitors to Japan by 2016

The Japan Tourism Agency has decided to move up their target by four years and now is trying to attract twenty million foreign visitors to Japan by 2016. To accomplish this Japan Tourism Agency’s budget for 2010 will be 25 billion yen, which is four times as much as in 2009.

Due to the worldwide recession the number of visitors to Japan in 2009 is likely to be around six to seven million, a 20% decrease on 2008. The agency is required to increase the visitor numbers by a factor of three in the next seven years. The Tourism Agency will put their main effort into attracting tourists from Korea and China, since these two countries represent the largest markets for foreign visitors to Japan.

The Minister of Land, Infrastructures, Transport and Tourism announced tourism is designated to the main pillar of the ministry’s growth strategy.

(Translated from an article in the Nikkei).

Read more...

Brand Canada falters - Questions from SME's as the brand sinks in world rankings!

NEW YORK – October 5, 2009 – Brand America is now ranked #1 by global citizens, according to the GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media, a division of GfK Custom Research North America. Results from the 2009 Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index(NBI), which measures the global image of 50 countries, show the United States taking the top spot as the country with the best overall brand, up from seventh last year.

"What’s really remarkable is that in all my years studying national reputation, I have never seen any country experience such a dramatic change in its standing as we see for the United States in 2009,” explains Simon Anholt, NBI founder and an independent advisor to over a dozen national governments around the world. "Despite recent economic turmoil, the U.S. actually gained significant ground. The results suggest that the new U.S. administration has been well received abroad and the American electorate’s decision to vote in President Obama has given the United States the status of the world’s most admired country.”

Ahnolt-GfK Roper Nation Brands IndexSM Overall Brand Ranking (Top 10 of 50 Nations)
	2009	2008
1.	United States	Germany
2.	France	France
3.	Germany	United Kingdom
4.	United Kingdom	Canada
5.	Japan	Japan
6.	Italy	Italy
7.	Canada	United States
8.	Switzerland	Switzerland
9.	Australia	Australia
10.	Spain, Sweden (tie)	Sweden

Source: 2009 and 2008 Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands IndexSM

"This improved perception of the U.S. is not only in the area of Governance, there are improved perceptions for People, Culture and even Tourism of the United States,” adds Xiaoyan Zhao, Senior Vice President and director of the NBI study at GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media. "While most nations’ reputation does not undergo major change from year to year, the U.S. has clearly bucked the trend. What’s key for the U.S. and other world’s leading nations is to strike while the iron is hot and develop focused policies and communication that draw businesses, financial investors and tourists -- in order to help lift their national economies and their global credibility.”

The NBI is based on a global survey in which people from across 20 major developed and developing countries are asked to rate each nation in six categories: Exports, Governance, Culture, People, Tourism and Immigration/Investment. The NBI ranking is based on the average of these six scores.

Turning to the rest of the NBI rankings, mostly the same countries are in the top ten as in 2008 – but also with some shifts in position. France again captured second place overall, while Germany and the United Kingdom fell to third and fourth, respectively. Japan (5th) and Italy (6th) did not shift rankings from 2008. However, Canada lost ground, slipping from fourth last year to seventh in 2009. Switzerland, Australia, Spain and Sweden round out the top 10.

Other major movers in the overall ranking include several developing countries – such as China, which climbed several spots from last year to 22nd in 2009.

This year’s NBI study also includes questions on the impact the global economic crisis is having on people’s opinions and perceptions towards the nations tracked. Top-line results from this area will be released late fall 2009.

About the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands IndexSM

Conducted annually in partnership between independent advisor Simon Anholt and GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media beginning in 2008, the Nation Brands IndexSM measures the image of 50 countries with respect to Exports, Governance, Culture, People, Tourism and Immigration/Investment. Each year, approximately 20,000 adults ages 18 and up are interviewed online in 20 core panel countries.

About GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media

GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media is a division of GfK Custom Research North America. The division specializes in customized public affairs and public opinion polling, media & communications research, and corporate reputation measurement -- in the US and globally. In addition to delivering a broad range of customized research studies, GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media draws from GfK’s syndicated consumer tracking services, GfK Roper Reports®US and GfK Roper Reports® Worldwide, which monitor consumer values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors in the US and more than 25 other countries.

About GfK Custom Research North America

Headquartered in New York, GfK Custom Research North America is part of the GfK Group. GfK Group offers the fundamental knowledge that industry, retailers, services companies and the media need to make market decisions. It offers a comprehensive range of information and consultancy services in the three business sectors of Custom Research, Retail and Technology and Media.

About Simon Anholt

Simon Anholt is recognized as the world’s leading authority on nation image and identity. He is a member of the UK Government’s Public Diplomacy Board, and works as an independent advisor to around 20 other national, regional and city governments on identity strategy and public diplomacy. Anholt developed the concept of the Nation Brands Index in 2005. He is founding editor of the quarterly journal, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, and the author ofBrand New Justice, Brand America and Competitive Identity - the New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions. His forthcoming book, Places, will be published by Macmillan in November 2009, together with a completely new edition of Brand America.

Read more...

No. of foreign tourists visiting Japan plunges 29% in Jan.-June

The number of foreign tourists who visited Japan from January to June this year plunged 28.6 percent from a year earlier to 3,095,000, as the global recession and the spread of new influenza affected international travel, according to an estimate released Tuesday by the Japan National Tourism Organization.

By month, the number of foreign visitors marked a drop of 41.3 percent in February from a year earlier, the third-biggest fall ever, partly due to the appreciation of the yen, which made the cost of staying in Japan more expensive.

The number of foreign visitors declined 34.0 percent in May, when the first infection of the new H1N1 strain of influenza A was confirmed in Japan, while it dropped 37.7 percent in June, marking the 11th consecutive month of year-on-year declines, the government-affiliated body said.

By region, the number of tourists from South Korea fell 48.5 percent in the six-month period, while that from Taiwan decreased 37.1 percent and that from Singapore dropped 31.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the organization said that 7,190,000 Japanese traveled abroad between January and June, down 9.1 percent from a year earlier.

In June, the number of Japanese traveling abroad plunged 21.3 percent from a year earlier partly due to the recession, marking the biggest fall since August 2003, when a drop of 22.4 percent was logged amid the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.

==Kyodo

Read more...

Canada wants to keep Emirates out of the Canadian market

As federal cabinet ministers boast about opening Canadian skies to foreign airlines, transport officials have been quietly undermining plans by one of the world's biggest airlines to expand service to Toronto, documents obtained by the Star show.

In private briefings, Transport Canada officials have gone on the offensive against Emirates Airlines' request for greater access to the Canadian market, charging that the Middle Eastern carrier is "an instrument of government policy" and is heavily subsidized by the public purse.

They also suggest Transport Canada should shelter Canadian carriers from competition.

The federal government's response to Emirates' request has sparked a sharp rebuke from a senior airline executive, who accuses Transport Canada officials of making "slanderous" allegations.

In a letter to the department, Emirates Senior Vice-President Andrew Parker claims that despite the promise of extra tourism, new jobs and other economic benefits, Transport Canada wants to keep Emirates – a global carrier serving 60 countries – out of the Canadian market.

"The language Transport Canada has used over the past decade is aggressive, often biased and deeply objectionable to this carrier," Parker writes in the letter obtained by the Star.

"The real aim of these rejections is sadly to keep Emirates permanently away from Canada. ... Emirates will not be deterred," Parker writes.

The spat offers a window into the world of international air treaties, where visions of a global economy often clash with deep-seated sentiments of protectionism, national self-interest and economics.

Senior Canadian cabinet ministers have pushed for closer ties to the United Arab Emirates. That suggests the resistance to Emirates' bid to fly more often to Canada lies within the federal bureaucracy.

At the heart of the growing dispute is a request from Emirates Airlines to increase flights between Dubai and Toronto, as well as start service to Calgary and Vancouver.

The request has won broad support among municipal and provincial governments, who say the extra flights would mean more tourism, new investment and more jobs. It's estimated allowing Emirates and another UAE airline, Etihad Airways, to boost flights into Pearson alone would produce more than 500 jobs, $20 million in salaries and $13.5 million in tax revenues.

However, Transport Canada insists the current cap of six flights a week from the United Arab Emirates to Canada – split between Emirates and Etihad – is enough to serve the market.

But in a presentation obtained by the Star, titled "Blue Sky, Canada's International Air Policy," given to stakeholders this spring, senior Transport Canada officials voiced other reasons for not moving on Emirates' request, including:

"Emirates and Etihad are instruments of government policy. ... The governments are helping finance massive wide-body aircraft orders and massive expansion of airport infrastructure."
They say the market between Canada and UAE is small, suggesting it's not worth the attention.
It cites an independent study that says the public-financed expansion of aviation in the Persian Gulf will lead to "unhealthy competition and irrational commercial behaviour."
It suggests Canadian carriers need to be protected. "In international aviation, as in other strategic areas, countries are very much driven by self-interest. Canada forgets this rule at its peril," the briefing paper says. "Our sky is open, at least as open as can be given ... our national interest."
But in a six-page rebuttal to Brigita Gravitis-Beck, Transport Canada's director-general of air policy, Parker says the government allegations are ill-informed and "strongly in error."

"We are particularly offended at the suggestion – without any substantive foundation – that Emirates receives government support for aircraft purchases. We receive no subsidies or government support," Parker writes.

While Emirates is state-owned, Parker says the airline operates on a fully commercial footing with no public subsidies.

And he charges that federal bureaucrats are deliberately trying to shelter Air Canada from competition, though it doesn't fly to the UAE.

"Unlike Air Canada, Emirates does not enjoy any aero-political protection – the greatest form of subsidy," he writes.

Parker also ridicules the government claim that the existing market is insignificant, saying the true potential of the Canada-Dubai route cannot be realized because Ottawa has restricted the flights.

He says Ottawa's hard-line attitude has not changed in the last decade, despite "extraordinary" trade growth between the two nations.

"We do hope that Transport Canada will adopt a more balanced and accurate view on Emirates.

"Transport officials said yesterday they were unable to comment on the dispute or their own allegations involving Emirates.

Source: The Star

Read more...

JAL To Speed Up Restructuring By Cutting Unprofitable Routes

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Japan Airlines Corp. will accelerate restructuring efforts by eliminating unprofitable routes and lowering pension obligations, President Haruka Nishimatsu said at a news conference Thursday.

The airline has decided to slash three routes that currently connect Kansai International Airport with the Chinese cities of Dalian and Hangzhou, as well as flights between Chubu International Airport and Paris.

"We can only keep routes that earn a profit," said Nishimatsu.

With pressure from the Land and Transport Ministry and local governments to maintain existing domestic routes, JAL will first try to improve profitability in this segment by utilizing smaller planes. If the airline is still unable to generate profits from these routes, it will consider cutbacks or the elimination of flights, according to Nishimatsu.

On JAL's planned use of emergency loans from the Development Bank of Japan, which are guaranteed by the government, Nishimatsu acknowledged that the airline itself was not thrilled with having to rely on public assistance.

"This is truly just a temporary measure," he said.

In response to higher oil prices, JAL plans to resurrect fuel surcharges on international routes beginning in October.

"At current (crude oil price) levels, we cannot do without" the surcharges, Nishimatsu said.

JAL dropped surcharges on all routes in July, but will bring back the fees to soften the brunt of rising fuel costs.

(The Nikkei July 24 morning edition)

Read more...

ANA, JAL consider resuming fuel surcharges for international flights

TOKYO —Japan’s two major airlines are considering collecting fuel surcharges again on international flights in the October to December period in response to the rise in airline fuel prices, airline officials said Wednesday. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have scrapped fuel surcharges on international flights from July to September in line with declines in fuel prices in the preceding benchmark period, a move seen as successful in spurring overseas trips during the summer holidays despite the economic slowdown.

Industry analysts say that consumer sentiment may again be chilled once JAL and ANA decide to simultaneously collect fuel surcharges. Asked about the surcharge for the three months from October, ANA President Shinichiro Ito indicated in a news conference that the firm may resume collecting fuel surcharges, saying, ‘‘As for the direction we are to take, it is likely that we will get them (fuel surcharges).’’

JAL, meanwhile, is also expected to resume its fuel surcharge system for tickets issued during the same period. JAL has a system of collecting fuel surcharges in the event that fuel prices in the previous three months average more than $60 per barrel, with the prices of tickets for the October-December period decided in line with the average of fuel prices for the May-July period.

© 2009 Kyodo News.

Read more...

ANA, JAL Eyeing Return Of Fuel Surcharges On Higher Oil Prices

TOKYO (Nikkei)--All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Corp. will likely bring back fuel surcharges in October to reflect higher oil prices.

ANA and JAL reassess such surcharges every three months. Owing to a downslide in crude oil prices from last summer, the airlines sharply reduced their surcharges this past January and April. And they eliminated such charges altogether from July.

The October-December surcharges will be based on the average price of jet fuel during the May-July period. As of July 14, the average price of kerosene in the Singapore market, a benchmark for jet fuel prices, stood at 70.7 dollars a barrel, above the 60 dollar threshold at which the surcharge kicks in. As a result, the airlines are likely to bring back the surcharge to help soften the brunt of their rising costs.

"We are currently exploring the possibility of charging (the fees) from October," ANA President Shinichiro Ito said at a news conference Wednesday.

JAL is also said to be considering a similar move.

Previously, the airlines had charged 7,000 yen to 14,000 yen on round-trip tickets for flights connecting Japan with Europe and the U.S. and 1,000 yen to 3,000 yen for Chinese routes. ANA, however, is unsure about whether to charge the same fees again.

"Because the elimination of surcharges helped fuel travel demand, we are still giving it thought," said Ito, suggesting that the airline might implement a different fee structure.

(The Nikkei July 23 morning edition)

Read more...