Senior representatives of Club Tourism Inc and Tourism Ireland attended an event in Tokyo today (Friday June 23) hosted by the Irish Ambassador to Japan, Anne Barrington. Japanese travel agent Club Tourism Inc will bring the first ever direct flight from Asia to Ireland this August, with 240 Japanese citizens flying to Dublin on a charter flight operated by Japan Airlines.
In 2016, approximately 20,000 Japanese tourists visited Ireland. Screen tourism, particularly in relation to Star Wars and Game of Thrones, has helped raise the country's profile in Japan in recent years. Last August, the Japanese version of Tourism Ireland’s international website, Ireland.com, was launched with support from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to build greater awareness of Ireland among Japanese travellers.
Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons is in Japan this week, undertaking a series of engagements with key decision-makers in the Japanese travel sector, including the president of JATA (Japan Association of Travel Agents), the director of the Japan Tourism Bureau, the official agents for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and senior representatives of another Japanese travel agency Miki Tourist.
Gibbons commented, “2017 marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ireland and Japan, so I’m delighted to be in Tokyo this week and to have the opportunity to meet with key players in the Japanese travel trade, including Club Tourism International Inc, which has organised the first ever direct flight from Asia to Ireland this August.”
