Wednesday, March 7, 2012

It's been nearly one year since Japan's northeastern coastal region suffered a devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The 8.9 earthquake spawned one of the most ferocious tsunamis ever recorded. The natural disaster left over 20,000 dead or missing in the Miyagi prefecture (state), displaced over 100,000 citizens and caused serious international concern due to the damage and radiation leakage at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility.

A year later Japan is back! This is good news for Japan's national psyche as well as its bustling tourism industry. Japan's national government has done a remarkable job in resurrecting the ravaged area. But, equally important, the Japanese have been working hard to convince people that their country is safe and ready for visitors. Japan's toughest job is one of geography -- educating the world tourism market as to the precise location of the affected earthquake area, which was centered in Sendai (some 265 kilometers or 165 miles north of Tokyo) and debunking much of the mis-information and concern about the threat of radiation outside the 25-mile control zone surrounding Fukushima, which is 148 miles northeast of Tokyo.

If there was any good news that resulted from the earthquake and tsunami it would be the point of impact. Japan's most populated areas, and those regions that serve as the heart of Japan's tourism and commerce, were not directly affected by the earthquake. The Miyagi prefecture is a sparsely populated state (nearly one million people) when compared to the rest of Japan's 127 million people; and, the Miyagi prefecture is somewhat isolated because it hugs Japan's northeastern coast.

On a recent trip to Japan, I visited many cities from Sapporo to Hiroshima to assess its tourism facilities and gauge the country's ability to welcome consumers and conference delegates. I was very pleased to see that in every city I visited it wasbusiness as usual. Tokyo and Osaka are bustling. The ports of Yokohama and Hiroshima are hectic with shipping. The cultural and tourism centers of Kobe, Kyoto, and Kanazawa are in full bloom with their beautiful cherry blossoms. Skiers are flocking to the mountains surrounding Sapporo, the beautiful site of the 1972 Winter Olympics. The food is great. The people are welcoming and Japan's culture of service and friendliness is stronger than ever. There's no good reason for visitors to stay home or avoid Japan.

Even the World Travel & Tourism Council is hosting its 12th Global Summit next month in Tokyo and Sendai. the city most devastated by the earthquake. This is a clear indication that tourists and conference delegates are not only being encouraged to visit Japan, but Japan's welcome mat is out. There are so many good travel deals to Japan it will make your head spin. Of course, the Yen remains strong against the American dollar, so it's not the cheapest country to visit. But, if you ever have the opportunity to visit the land of the Rising Sun, do it. Japan is a spectacular place that everyone should experience at least once.

About the Author: Thomas Hinton is president of the American Consumer Council, a non-profit consumer education and advocacy organization with over 125,000 members and 46 state affiliate consumer councils. Mr. Hinton is a popular speaker at corporate and association events on consumer issues and economic trends. Contact: tom@americanconsumercouncil.org