Travel Promoting

The Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show (today's the last day) was fruitful for me as I was able to promote The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.  A lot of business cards were exchanged and several copies of the travel guide were provided.

One would think that with all the promoting I've done, people in the travel industry (especially those who are Japan travel-oriented) would already be aware of the guide.  Not so, from what I've found.  That is why anyone who has come up with a publication has to constantly promote and network so that the target audience can reached.

While at the travel show yesterday, the organizations I met with included:

Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). 

All Japan Tours (AJT). 

H.I.S. (Japan travel specialist with over 300 offices worldwide). 

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). 

Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau.

With JNTO, we had a deep discussion about "niche" travel markets as the Japan Tourism Agency has published the "Japan Anime Tourism Guide," which is available in several languages.   I emphasized that for many in the baby-boomer generation, their first exposure to Japan and Japanese pop-culture began through watching Godzilla and Gamera movies and the super-hero television shows such as Ultraman.

With the travel/tour specialists, I emphasized the same as with JNTO (in regards Japanese pop-culture exposure) and pushed them to consider tailoring Japan tours to kaiju enthusiasts using The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan and having it available for sale to their customers..

All in all, I thought the talks with these organizations were very useful and could lead into other things in the future.

I will be doing the same at next month's Los Angeles Times Travel Show (February 23-24).

Travel Summit In Sendai, Japan

Above, Sendai Station.  The station was featured in two kaiju movies.

Travel industry professionals have gathered in Sendai, Japan for a travel industry summit. 

According to BreakingTravelNews.com:

The joint World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Sendai Recovery & Asia Outlook Forum has opened in Sendai, Japan, with almost 500 industry professionals and government leaders from around the world present.  

As part of the WTTC Global Summit taking place in Tokyo and Sendai, April 16th-17th, the overall theme of this year’s Global Summit is, ‘Leading a Dynamic Industry Through Turbulent Times’. 

Sendai was hit hard by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.  I visited Sendai in 2006.

Sendai was demolished by the giant flower pod in Gamera 2: Advent of Legion and some damage was caused by Rodan in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.  Sendai is spotlighted in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

To read the full article, go here.

"Japan Safe For Monster Fan Tourists"

Last summer, I wrote an article, "Japan Safe For Monster Fan Tourists" that got some play on the Internet (Anime News Network posted it, amongst others). With the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake Coming up this Sunday, the media has been increasing Japan travel-related stories. The western media initially published hysterical stories on the radiation problems of the Fukushima nuclear power plant that dissuaded some from considering a vacation to Japan. To again "set the record straight" for monster movie fans, here is the article:

TARZANA, CA - The March 11 earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region of Japan has depressed tourism throughout the country. Author Armand Vaquer says this is totally unnecessary. Prior to the earthquake, tourism amounted to 7% of Japan's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) recently declared that Japan is safe for travel.

Armand Vaquer, author of "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" said this is especially true for fans of Japanese science-fiction and fantasy movies. The landmarks and locations from the movies were untouched by the disaster.

"Most of the locations shown in the movies are far away from the areas affected by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and radiation problems," said Vaquer. "Most of them are located from Tokyo to the south down to Kyushu. The quake zone is about 150-200 miles northeast of Tokyo. The majority of Japan is now operating normally. Fans of Japanese science-fiction and fantasy movies should not be afraid to visit Japan. It is safe to do so."

Vaquer said that when asked, he encourages travelers to go ahead and visit Japan. "Since March 11, I have monitored the situation in Japan so I could provide accurate assessments for tourists," said Vaquer. "Unfortunately, the western media gave people the wrong impression in their reporting immediately following the quake. Their reporting had people thinking the whole country was affected. Not true."

"The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" is the world's first and only Japan travel guide tailored to fans of Godzilla, Gamera, Mothra, Rodan and other Japanese giant monsters. It provides information on each location/landmark, how to get there and what other attractions are nearby.

"'The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan' is an 'unorthodox' travel guide," admits Vaquer. "But baby-boomers' first exposure to Japan and Japanese culture were through the movies. They want to see the locations and landmarks shown in the films. They should get the travel guide and go and have themselves a great time."

"The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" is available through http://www.comixpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=1554&zenid=jiq9fjvt4qa67a698cucr0mlf6

Positive Signs For Japan's Recovery

Above, Tokyo's Sumida River with the Kachidoki Bridge in the background. The bridge is featured in "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan."

Breaking Travel News.com posted an article, "Blossom Japan: Positive signs for Japan’s recovery."

In it, they report:

As we move into the second half of 2011, it is clear that Japan is shouting out to the world that the vast majority of the country is safe to travel to.

Inbound to Japan, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) reports that the International arrivals to Japan have picked up slightly in June 2011, welcoming 433,100 foreign arrivals. This represents a decline of -36% over June 2010 but one which is better than the -50% decline in May and the -62% decline in April 2011.

The article also notes that there are "various comeback initiatives for the Japanese tourism industry."

To read the full article, go here.

Latest Press Release Done

Above, the Fukuoka Yahoo Dome featured in "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe." Photo by Armand Vaquer.

My latest press release on Japan travel has just been completed and is now undergoing review by the press release service. It should be sent out in about a day or so. When it is, I'll post it here as well.

The topic is "Japan Travel Safe For Japanese Science-Fiction Fans." This is in relation to Pacific Asia Travel Association's (PATA) recent declaration that Japan is safe to visit. (See this post from Travel Daily News.)

Essentially, since the vast majority of locations and landmarks used in Japanese science-fiction and fantasy movies are far away from the quake zone, it is safe for fans to visit Japan to see them.

PATA: "Japan Safe For Visitors Again"

Above, Godzilla statue awaits visitors at the main entrance to Toho Studios in the Setagaya Ward of Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The United Kingdom's Holiday Hypermarket travel website has posted that Japan is "safe for visitors again."

In their post, they cite a statement from The Pacific Asia Travel Association:

Tourism officials for Pacific Asia have issued a statement reassuring potential visitors to the country that Japan is now perfectly safe to visit, with the country returning to normal life except for the immediate area surrounding the damaged Fukushima power plant. The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) said that "almost all" of Japan is now functioning as normal, and visitors should not be put off booking Japan holidays.

As I have mentioned several times, the area affected by the quake, tsunami and radiation is confined to small sections of the country. As Japan is roughly the size of California, people shouldn't fear a vacation to, say, Kyoto when the affected areas are quite a distance away (this amounts to cancelling a vacation to Disneyland in Anaheim when the disaster happened in San Francisco).



Tourism amounted to 7% of Japan's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) before the earthquake.

To read the full story, go here.

Left, the Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion in Kyoto. Photo by Armand Vaquer.