Haruhiko (Harry) Niihori will be responsible for promoting travel to New South Wales and developing partnerships and promotions with travel and tourism wholesalers.
“Last year ended June 2013, New South Wales welcomed over 152,000 visitors from Japan, they stayed 4.2 million nights, spent an estimated $353 million in NSW, and stayed for an average of 28 days. With so much to offer Japanese visitors, there’s great potential to grow our visitor numbers from this important market for NSW,” Minister for Tourism and Major Events George Souris said.
“Following the recommendations of the Visitor Economy Taskforce Report there are aggressive goals to increase visitation from Japan as a tourism key market for the State.”
Destination NSW CEO Sandra Chipchase said, “Clearly visitors from Japan are already choosing Sydney and NSW for an extended holiday, and with current trends being to stay mainly in Sydney, there’s a great opportunity for NSW to show visitors from Japan what our State has to offer in the regions.
“As Australia’s event capital and with a huge rang of unique regional events, there’s so many experiences that appeal to Japanese visitors including Sculpture in the Vineyards, Orange F.O.O.D Week, and the Winter Magic Festival as well as Vivid Sydney, Sydney Royal Easter Show, Major League Baseball and Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour,” Ms Chipchase said.
Simonne Shepherd, General Manager, Industry Partnerships and Government Policy said, “Mr Niihori has an impeccable track record in promoting Australia to the travel industry in Japan, having worked for Australian tourism organisations in Japan for the past 22 years. We look forward to the wealth of experience and expertise he will bring to our international team.”
Media contact
Marsha Rodrom, Destination NSW, 02 9931 1407 / marsha.rodrom@dnsw.com.au
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