Japan is suddenly becoming one of the most favorite countries among Thai people. To catch the new wave, local governments and business entities in Japan are each trying to reach more people quicker and more effectively than others by expanding their public relations’ activities in Thailand. In 2013, the Japanese government decided to make visitors from Thailand exempt from short-term visa requirement. This contributed to the big surge of the number of inbound travelers from the predominantly Buddhist country. Chiba Prefecture has launched an ad campaign to appeal the fun of strawberry picking in Chiba in order to attract a greater number of Thai travelers particularly in their long weekend in April. Other regions too are focusing on their agricultural events, expecting that they’ll attract more people from Thailand.
Booths to introduce Chiba and other prefectures and areas attracted many people (in Bangkok, Thailand, photo by Chiba Prefecture)
In Bangkok, Thailand, a three-day exhibition about Japan and its culture, Japan Expo Thailand 2017, began on Friday, February 10, 2017, inviting world-famous “PPAP” singer PIKOTARO, Japanese idol girl group AKB48 and many other Japanese talents and artists. The event in its third year saw a record turnout of 0.5 million visitors.
Another big event held in Bangkok from Wednesday, February 15, through Sunday, February 19 was attended by 80 public and private entities from Japan, including prefectures (Hokkaido, Chiba, Okayama, etc.), travel agencies, hotels and inns. The event is called Thai International Travel Fair and is the largest travel expo in southeastern Asia. The booths from Japan accounted for two third of the entire event.
The number of travelers from Thailand is sharply increasing. According to Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), which referred to its statistics that began in 2003, the visitors from Thailand have increased dramatically from 80,000 in 2003 to a little less than 1 million in 2016. The only exceptional years were 2009, the year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and 2011, the year hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Thailand is now the sixth largest source of international travelers for Japan.
After July 2013, thanks to the short term visa exemptions given to Thai nationals and recent launches of low cost carriers’ services between Japan and Thailand, the number of Thai travelers soared to probably exceed 0.9 million in 2016.
“Many of the Thai people are pro-Japanese. They love our fashion and culture in particular. Many even say they admire Japan,” a JNTO official said. The number of the inbound visitors from Thailand is anticipated to reach 1 million in a not-too-distant future.
■Chiba Prefecture’s ad campaign to invite Thai travelers to strawberry picking during three-day weekend in April
Chiba Prefecture is strengthening its ad campaign for strawberry picking and a new local strain of strawberry called CHI-BA Berry. The prefecture put up billboards and introduced them in a TV program aired on Sunday, February 12.
CHI-BA-KUN, mascot character of Chiba prefecture, explaining fun of CHI-BA Berry picking on TV program (Photo by Chiba Prefecture)
During the long weekend in the middle of April, more and more Thai people are expected to visit Japan. “It coincides with the spring tourist season in Japan and the good season for CHI-BA Berry,” said an official in charge of press and public relations of Chiba Prefecture, explaining how the prefecture came to plan the campaign.
CHI-BA Berry was developed by Chiba Prefectural Agriculture and Forestry Research Center. It’s a brand new strain of strawberry whose brand name was decided only in September 2016. It’s a big strawberry with the right combination of sweetness and acidity as well as strong resistant to mildew, and a high-yielding variety that continuously produces berries for almost three months from March through May. This makes it a very suitable product for the prefecture in which more than 50% of strawberries produced in the prefecture are for strawberry picking and sales at farmers’ markets. CHI-BA Berry is now sold at 53 strawberry gardens and farm shops for travelers.
In four large shopping centers in Bangkok, Chiba Prefecture put up billboards with pictures of strawberry picking and CHI-BA Berry from late January through February 25. On February 12, it aired a TV program listing the must-to-go spots in Chiba for Thai travelers in from early spring to early summer. The program featured a Thai female personality traveling across Chiba Prefecture guided by a mascot character of Chiba Prefecture named CHI-BA-KUN and visiting several towns including Narita and Isumi. In the program, they enjoyed strawberry picking.
“It’s best for them to eat CHI-BA Berry and all other agricultural and livestock products and local specialties right here in Chiba. This is the most important message we want to deliver to the Thai people,” said the prefectural official. Farming experience is one of the most popular attractions for international travelers and the strawberry picking “has a great potential to become a great tourist resource,” he said.