The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) recently launched two campaigns that take vastly different approaches to target different audiences, yet have the same ultimate goal: to attract more visitors from the U.S. and other inbound markets.
At an event in New York this week, JNTO president Ryoichi Matsuyama discussed Enjoy My Japan, a global campaign that aims to lure potential visitors by appealing to seven "passion points": cuisine, traditional experiences and attractions, nature, art, relaxation, city exploration and outdoor activities. Those passion points are highlighted in a series of video clips.
Whereas past tourism efforts focused on visitor volume, Matsuyama said, the Enjoy My Japan campaign aims for a "quality-oriented" approach that appeals to visitors' interests and encourages longer stays and increased spending.
While U.S. visitors are familiar with Japan's major cities and traditional experiences, Matsuyama said, the JNTO also hopes to highlight lesser-known attractions such as Japan's national parks and beaches -- particularly as the country prepares to host next year's Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympics.
On the other hand, the JNTO's other new campaign, Come to Japan, seeks to capitalize on an established commodity, anime, to lure millennial visitors from the U.S.
That campaign, part of an overall "Cool Japan" promotional strategy, features YouTube character Kizuna AI as its ambassador across various social media platforms. The Kizuna AI Come to Japan Sweepstakes, with a grand prize of roundtrip airfare for two to Tokyo, concludes March 25.
"In the United States, digital marketing is an effective way to engage potential travelers, particularly millennials," Ken Iwata, JNTO New York executive director, said in a statement. "Anime has attracted more than 20 million users to American video streaming platforms like Crunchyroll, so we believe it can help us reach a broad audience in a new and exciting way."
Japan received an estimated 28.7 million visitors last year, with the U.S. and Europe comprising about 11% of that total. The country hopes to reach 40 million visitors by 2020.