Welcoming more and more visitors, Japan continues its efforts in international and Belgian MICE

Magazine:
5th Mar, 2018
Image:
Body:

The popularity of the Land of the Rising Sun serves as a guarantee for the success of the international conferences it hosts,as proven by the World Congress of Neurology, held in Kyoto in September 2017. While the World Federation of Neurology was hoping to reach 6,000 attendants, the turnout was 43% higher than expected, with as many as 8,600 participants! Among the reasons for this huge success, we can mention the attractiveness of the historical capital, without forgetting the presence of three Nobel Prize laureates in the congress’ scientific program.

2018 will also be a year marked by the organisation of major international conferences, including notably those of the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO), the International Water Association (IWA), the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) and the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP).

Taking advantage of this growing popularity, Japan continues, in 2018, to develop its MICE offering and to facilitate foreign visitors' discovery of the country. From 25th February to 2nd March, the Japan Convention Bureau, a division of the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), holds its new edition of the hosted buyer program “Meet Japan”, dedicated to international associations.

Meet Japan gives international associations holding medium-sized conferences and congresses (200-1000 participants) the opportunity to discover Japan’s assets. The executives of the registered associations will be invited to inspect, at JNTO and local administration’s expenses, intermediate-sized cities equipped with all the facilities needed to host an international conference. The destinations covered by the inspection tours are (from North to South): Sendai, Tsukuba, Toyama, Kanazawa, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Shizuoka, Gifu, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, Matsue, Osaka and Okinawa.

The inspection tours will of course include visits of convention centres and event venues meeting the needs of the associations, but they will also be a great chance to discover the highlights of these cities (traditional arts, gastronomy, nature, etc.) which can add colour to their conferences and spice up their delegates' stay in Japan. Finally, the executive members will have the opportunity to meet with the Convention Bureaus of the participating cities during the Japan Convention Trade-Mart, planned on the last day.

Moreover, on February 28th, JNTO will also organise the International MICE Expo (Tokyo), the tradeshow for conference, event and incentive planners who wish to directly meet with the local MICE supply: Convention Bureaus, hotel chains, PCOs, DMCs...

As for Belgium, JNTO’s office in Paris continues to promote exchanges with actors of the local MICE market and Belgium-based international associations. Making the most of the direct flight connection from Brussels Airport to Tokyo Narita Airport provided by All Nippon Airways (ANA), JNTO intends to collaborate with its partner ANA to foster knowledge about Japan as an event and incentive destination, notably through a seminar inMarch 2018, in Brussels. On this occasion, as in all its direct meetings in Belgium, JNTO’s goal is to answer all of the professionals’ questions, to support them in their search for the ideal venue for their event, and to put them in contact with the appropriate local companies and organisations.

Contact:Aurélien Bandini – aurelien_bandini@jnto.go.jp

JNTO’s Official MICE Website:www.japanmeetings.org

Other Articles

About Us

Supported by the Union of International Associations (UIA), the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) and the Interel Group, the global public affairs and association management consultancy, Headquarters Magazines serve the needs of international associations organising worldwide congresses.