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Japan Airlines and TripAdvisor Join Forces to Spread Inbound Tourism Across Japan in the Lead up to 2020
Multi-media portal with ‘Untold Stories of Japan’ to encourage wider global travel discovery and repeat visits to Japan

Japan Airlines (JAL), Japan’s premier airline carrier, and TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site from reviews to bookings, today announced a strategic partnership supporting the country’s efforts to better capture and disperse inbound tourism across Japan.

According to TripAdvisor data[1], global inbound travel interest in Japan been growing at an average rate of 30% year on year over the past four years, with majority of interest focused on the Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto prefectures. The joint initiative will take the form of an immersive multi-media portal, Untold Stories of Japan, highlighting the very best that locals love beyond the obvious, driving sustainable tourism and increasing the likelihood of repeat visits.

The portal will launch in October, featuring the Tohoku, Kyushu and Okinawa regions, as well as cities in the vicinity of Kanto region. Japan Airlines and TripAdvisor will also collaborate with local governments, corporations and tourist facilities to further enhance the content and viewership of the portal.

“We are fully committed to not only supporting the government’s efforts to grow foreign visitor arrivals by 40 million by 2020[2], but also to encourage these visitors to keep visiting Japan,” said Yoshiharu Ueki, President of Japan Airlines. “What we will create together is a powerful platform that can help drive a revitalization of rural Japan by getting travelers to go further and stay longer, local businesses can capitalize this inbound interest to grow the economy in the long term.”

Ueki commented on TripAdvisor’s strength as a global platform, with 415 million average unique visitors doing their research and making decisions on travel each month: “As a premium Japanese airline, we are in a unique position to get travelers here and it is TripAdvisor that can help the world know Japan better.”

“There is so much for travelers to uncover in Japan and TripAdvisor, together with Japan Airlines, wants to help them discover the country, maximize their trip and get the most out of their budget,” said Stephen Kaufer, President & Chief Executive Officer, TripAdvisor. “We are delighted to be working hand in hand with Japan Airlines on this important initiative that will help people around the world see what Japan has to offer.”

Untold Stories of Japan will be available to travelers on across desktop, tablet and mobile. The portal will be available across a variety of languages, including English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese and Thai, amongst others.

 

[1] Based on TripAdvisor internal data; based on unique sessions

[2]New tourism strategy by Council for a Tourism Vision to Support the Future of Japan: [Source: https://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001172615.pdf]