El Círculo Empresarial Japón-España organizes Japan-Spain Tourism Forum

On April 18, El Círculo Empresarial Japón- España (CEJE) held the Japan-Spain Tourism Forum in collaboration with Elite Excellence and Spain is Excellence, where Japanese and Spanish experts from the sector analyzed the current situation and how both tourism flows could be boosted.

The conference was opened by the President of CEJE, Jorge Lasheras, who thanked all the organizers, the Gran Hotel Inglés and the speakers for their participation, and gave way to Mr. Yoji Kitamura, Economic Counselor of the Embassy of Japan in Spain, to inaugurate the event. After framing the importance of tourism in bilateral economic relations, and commenting that Spain is only the 5th country in Western Europe in terms of Japanese tourist interest, Mr. Lasheras gave way to Mr. Hiroshi Yamashita, Director of JNTO in Madrid, who explained the interest and policy of the Japanese government to increase the flow of tourists to Japan.

In the second part, Sandra Andujar, president of Elite Excellence and Ana Alonso, CEO of Spain is Excellence, moderated a round table with different experts from the sector: Rocio Osborne Alonso-Allende, director of Communications of the Osborne Group, Evelio Acevedo, managing director of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Conchi Zamorano, general manager in Spain and Portugal of Kuoni Tumiare of JTB Group, and Haruo Shimohira, president of the Spanish-Japanese Tourism Association.

Throughout the different interventions made, the speakers emphasized that in order to increase the influx of Japanese quality tourism to Spain, the image of our country should be promoted, highlighting its culture, history and gastronomy. They also stressed that it is essential to transmit and make travelers’ safety a reality; it should be explained that Spain is a safe country to travel to. Another important point commented by the experts was the air connection, the Japanese tourist looks for comfort and for that it is necessary to have direct air connections between the two countries.

The event was attended by more than 40 people, including representatives from the world of airlines, hotels, culture, agencies and institutions.

To conclude, the Gran Hotel Inglés offered a magnificent aperitif to the attendees, while an interesting networking session was held.