Japan fam cancelled over safety fears

A travel trade fam trip due to take place this month to Japan has been cancelled over fears for the safety of the participants.

Twelve travel agents from Kuwait and the UAE were due to fly to Osaka on 15 March for a three-day trip hosted by the Kyoto Tourism Council and Qatar Airways.

Paul James Rebutazo, manager of destination marketing company AR Promotions which was organising the trip said the decision was taken to cancel  the trip despite the fact that Kyoto was unaffected by the earthquake or the tsunami. 

“We are very concerned about the safety of all the participants on this trip, even though, as we were informed by Kyoto Tourism Council, the situation in Kansai is very much stable and is quite far from where the earthquake / tsunami had struck.”

“Our participants for the Fam showed concerns over travelling to Japan and suggested cancelling and doing it at a later stage." he added. “This decision was strongly supported by Qatar Airways, who are providing the flights. We have taken this judgment primarily because it isn’t the right time to promote the destination when the country is in a state of sorrow by the natural disaster.”

With its annual cherry blossom festival season, Japan is now entering peak tourism season, but visitors from around the world are steering clear of the destination, scared off by fears of radiation from the nuclear crisis that erupted on the back of March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Rebutazo said he was now planning on extra marketing activities for later in the year, including a fam trip in August or September in order to boost tourism to Japan once the destination had got back on its feet. “It is really unfortunate – this fam was supposed to be a really good introduction to promote Japan to the GCC market as Japan. The frequencies of all the Gulf carriers have increased to Japan and they are very much interested in this market."