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46th JATA Ordinary General Meeting held on June 11, 2003
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The 46th JATA
Ordinary General Meeting was held on Wednesday, June 11, 2003, with
118 companies in attendance and 700 letters of proxy for a total
of 818.
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| 46th JATA Ordinary
General Meeting venue |
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First two issues
being explained |
JATA
Chairperson Shinmachi made the opening address. "Now is the
time to return to normal. Instead of dwelling on the Iraqi war,
SARS and the like as the cause of the present slump in the travel
industry, we must ask ourselves if our products are truly competitive
industry-wide. If we are to overcome the current impasse, the
whole industry needs to unite; to forge relations and cooperate
on a scale greater than ever before. Industry-wide crisis management
is essential, and we must seriously consider whether we have the
necessary resources to deal with emergencies. We must not give
in to recession or the threat of insolvency; rather I ask you
to make every effort to fortify the industry and contribute to
developing global travel strategy."
This
was followed by a powerpoint presentation by JATA Director &
Secretary General Ishiyama, who explained the first two issues
before the meeting: the 2002 Business Report (proposed) and 2002
Settlement of Accounts (proposed)", and the proposed 2003
Business Report and 2003 Income and Expenditure Budget. This was
followed by the third issue on the agenda, the supplemental election
of officers.
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| JATA Chairperson
Shinmachi speaks at reception |
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Minister of
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Oogi offers thanks and
encouragement |
After
the conclusion of the Ordinary General Meeting, a reception was
held from 6:00 p.m. attended by over 500 people. Among the many
dignitaries and honored guests was Minister of Land, Infrastructure
and Transport Oogi, who took advantage of the occasion to speak
to the gathering, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and
Transport believes that little can be accomplished without the combined
efforts of the private sector. Call on visitors around the world
to come to Japan. In this endeavor it is indispensable to have the
cooperation of all."
Minister
Oogi remained the center of attention for the evening, as officials
and members chatted amiably until the 2003 46th Ordinary General
Meeting drew to a close two hours later. |
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Second Working Group Meeting on the U.S.-Japan Tourism Expansion Initiative Held
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A
reception in Tokyo on Wednesday, April 23rd kicked off the Second
Working Group Meeting on the U.S.-Japan Tourism Expansion Initiative
held April 24-25 in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Deputy
Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce
Douglas Baker headed a delegation of U.S. tourism-related representatives,
who met with Director-General Satoru Kanazawa of the Tourism Department,
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, JNTO Chairperson
Hideaki Mukoyama, JATA Chairperson Koji Shinmachi, among others
to discuss concrete promotional measures to expand tourism between
the two countries.
The
atmosphere was most congenial at the reception, which began
at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, and also featured addresses
by Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Chikage
Oogi, and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker, Jr.
At
the press conference, Deputy Assistant Secretary Baker's optimistic
comment that "tourism exchange leads to economic growth" was
echoed by Director-General Kanazawa, who expressed his wish
for "discussions on a concrete policy for both countries."
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U.S. Department of Commerce
Deputy Assistant Secretary Douglas Baker (left) and Ministry
of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Tourism Department
Director-General Satoru Kanazawa (right)
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Thursday, April 24th the venue shifted to Hakone, where general
and individual task force meetings were held throughout the
day. On the last day, Friday, April 25th, after summarizing
the results of the individual task force meetings and agreeing
on future actions, the members answered reporters' questions.
The Second Working Group Meeting then concluded with a commemorative
photograph of all the participants. |
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Working Groups at work
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Joint Statement after the
Second Working Group Meeting on the U.S.-Japan Tourism Expansion
Initiative
The
Second Working Group Meeting on the U.S.-Japan Tourism Expansion
Initiative was held April 24-25 in Hakone, Japan. The meeting
was held under the auspices of the historic Memorandum of Understanding
signed by U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Evans and Minister
of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Oogi in April 2002.
Based
on a mutual understanding of the important role that tourism plays
in promoting cultural exchange, as well as economic and social
benefits, the two sides engaged in very practical, forward-looking
talks.
Over
the last two years, the travel and tourism industry has faced
a number of severe challenges, including terrorism and a global
economic downturn. More recently, the war in Iraq and the multi-country
outbreak of SARS have led to a further decline in overseas travel.
We agreed that close cooperation and coordinated efforts by the
private and public sectors of both countries are indispensable
to cope with the difficult situation facing visitation between
our two countries.
Accordingly,
private sector participants in the meeting discussed specific
promotional programs that will encourage more Japanese to visit
the U.S., and more Americans to visit Japan.
U.S.
and Japanese government participants also discussed ways in which
they can support these private sector efforts, including the use
of funds that have been allocated by each government for tourism
promotion.
The
private sector participants also expressed appreciation to both
governments for their support. All participants expressed a long-term
commitment to continue to work closely together to restore the
travel and tourism industry to healthy levels of growth.
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Over 100 Participate in JATA
Sponsored SARS Study Session on April 15, 2003
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At
the invitation of JATA, infectious disease specialists from the
International Medical Center of Japan participated in a study
session held on Tuesday, April 15, concerning severe acute respiratory
syndrome, better known as SARS. Including representatives from
the mass media and other interested parties, more than 100 people
attended the study session, eager to learn more about SARS itself
and the current situation. A TV crew was also on hand to report
on the event.
JATA
Director & Secretary General Ishiyama opened the event by
saying to the assembly, "This study session is being held
to ensure that those in the tourism business have both an adequate
understanding and accurate information about SARS. It is vital
that everyone be able to separate out what is correct and important
from the avalanche of information coming in every day."
This
was followed by a talk by Dr. Genka, a clinical specialist, who
provided an update on SARS, as well as an explanation of the present
outbreak, a definition of the disease, its clinical progress and
pathogenic agent, the route of infection, how hospitals are dealing
with SARS patients, and information for travelers
More than 100 attendees listen intently
to Dr. Genka's talk |
Dr.
Shinozuka, Managing Director of the Japanese Society of Travel Medicine,
then addressed the gathering. "Infectious disease specialists
and those in the tourist industry are faced with the greatest difficulties
now. More than SARS itself, they must deal with the fallout from
fear and rumors. As we seek a swift solution to the cause and treatment,
we must all be assiduous about disseminating accurate information."
Dr.
Kaneo Yamada, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Japanese
Society of Travel Medicine, echoed these sentiments. "The travel
industry has been dealt two severe blows with the war in Iraq and
SARS. The war will soon end, and the SARS gene sequence has been
unveiled. I pray for the swift discovery of the SARS antibody and
a treatment for this grave illness."
Amid
the hope all around that a solution is swiftly found, experts fielded
such questions as: "How many patients have recovered completely?"
"What areas have been confirmed with documented cases of SARS?"
"Is there any end in sight?" among others. |
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 As
evidence of the atmosphere of heightened concern about SARS, some
50 representatives from the media attended press conferences on
April 15 at 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. held by the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport and JATA.
JATA
Director & Secretary General Jun Ishiyama opened the press
conference by saying, "With the mounting concern around the
world about SARS, one of the first places travelers are turning
to for information is travel agencies. If travel agencies do not
provide accurate information the clients' uneasiness will only
increase. Thus, starting April 10, JATA, in cooperation with Managing
Director Tadashi Shinozuka of the Japanese Society of Travel Medicine,
will be providing the latest information on SARS (in Japanese)
as it becomes available, via the JATA Web site. Providing member
organizations and their clients with accurate information will
hopefully aid in dispelling unnecessary apprehension."
This
was followed by a talk on SARS by Dr. Shinozuka of the Japanese
Society of Travel Medicine, who explained the arrangements being
made for translating The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention) materials on SARS, as well as the basic prevention
measures, which include the following:
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Wash your hands frequently with soap and water,
in particular before eating a meal or touching the eyes, nose
or mouth. Contact with exhaled droplets and bodily secretions
from an infected person appears to be conducive to in disease
transmission. |
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Gargle. |
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Avoid crowded places.
The infection range from droplets is less than one meter.
In particular care should be taken in crowded elevators, public
means of transportation and the like. |
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If a crowded situation cannot be avoided, a
mask should be worn. |
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Pay sufficient attention to daily health care.
First and foremost, stay in good condition: eat balanced meals,
get enough rest, avoid ingesting raw food, etc. |
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Care should be taken especially with people
in a weakened state of immunity (for example, during convalescence
following an illness or operation) as they appear to be particularly
susceptible. |
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"JATA Management Forum
2003" Held on Feb. 19
This Year's Theme: "Time to Establish the True Value of the Travel Business"
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 The
annual JATA Management Forum was held on February 19 in Tokyo,
attended by some 470 executives from member companies and other
organizations. Under the overall theme for this year of "Time
to Establish the True Value of the Travel Business," the
participants discussed many programs with a great deal of passion.
In
his opening address, JATA Chairman Koji Shinmachi commented, "The
spiritual values of consumers have been changing in this century,
and how we will respond to this is of critical importance to our
industry." He went on to point out that to succeed in the
future the industry must become more competitive, create products
of greater value, and attract competent workers. In addition,
he appealed to the audience to recognize the promotion of tourism
as the obligation of the entire industry, and in particular to
join the "Visit Japan" campaign.
In
a special speech, former Kao Corp. Chairman Fumikatsu Tokiwa presented
a potpourri of proposals under the theme "Now That a Wide
Variety of Values Exists, Quality Should Be Given Priority in
Management." In the second half of the forum, a special session
and five subcommittee meetings were held to provide the participants
with an opportunity to discuss and examine in depth the current
state and future prospects of the travel industry from various
points of view.
Chairman Shinmachi gives the opening address |
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Participants are all ears at a subcommittee meeting |
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JATA Dispatches Delegation to Guam
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JATA
recently dispatched a delegation to Guam, which was severely damaged
by a typhoon at the end of last year. The members of the delegation
met with Governor Felix Camacho and other representatives of tourism-related
organizations to present a total of US$10,000 in disaster relief
donated by 57 JATA member companies.
The
JATA delegation consisted of Chairman Koji Shinmachi and five
other executives. They first met with Guam Governor F. Camacho
and the representatives of the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry
to exchange greetings and opinions, and present the donation as
a token of JATA's sympathy. Afterwards meetings were held with
the Japan Guam Travel Association (JGTA), the Guam Visitors Bureau
(GVB), and the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association (GHRA) to
discuss measures to revive business and other key issues.
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JATA to Develop EC Standard with XML Consortium
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JATA
and private sector organization XML Consortium recently announced
that they would jointly develop a uniform standard for electronic
commerce (EC) among travel businesses, to be provisionally called
"Travel XML." This new standard will be established
by integrating the various methods of electronic data interchange
(EDI) that travel agents are currently employing, and then utilize
the extensible markup language (XML) as the means of communication
over the Internet. By linking in real time and increasing the
efficiency of the overseas and domestic information systems that
serve accommodation facilities, travel agents and other tourism-related
services, the project seeks to improve the services provided to
travelers and speed up the processing time for all transactions.
As the initial step, in August this year the standards will be
established for three fields, including purchasing overseas hotel
rooms for package tour products. The project will then proceed
to the standardization of transactions dealing with other travel
products and services.
In
the U.S. and European countries, the Open Travel Alliance (OTA)
is playing a leading role in developing the EC standard for interfacing
with individual consumers. However, JATA has decided to develop
an independent standard, considering the fact that in this country
the lion's share of travel product and service transactions carried
out by travel agents involve purchasing activities for package
and other group tours, rather than individual ticket sales. The
integration of the "Travel XML" and the standards being
developed by OTA will be pursued at some point in the future.
XML
Consortium, JATA's partner for the development of the "Travel
XML Project," is the only domestic organization promoting
the widespread use of XML in business, and has about 260 member
companies.
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Indonesian Tourism Mission Visits Japan
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A
tourism mission from Indonesia, headed by the Minister of Culture
and Tourism, I Gede Ardika, recently visited Japan, and held a
conference attended by media reporters and the representatives
of the Japanese travel industry, including JATA Chairman Koji
Shinmachi. The purpose of the mission was to revive tourism business
on the Indonesian island of Bali in the aftermath of the bomb
attack on October 12 last year.
At
the conference, Minister Ardika emphasized that public security
in Bali is greatly improved, after which Bali Governor Dewa Beratha,
a member of the tourism mission, announced a plan to establish
a new base in Japan dedicated to the recovery of tourism in Bali.
Speaking as the representative of the Japanese travel industry,
JATA Chairman Shinmachi commented, "Bali is one of the most
important destinations for the Japanese travel market, and we
intend to cooperate fully with all activities aiming to revive
tourism business in Bali."
Indonesian Minister of Culture and Tourism Ardika gives a speech at the conference |
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Bali Governor Beratha (left) shakes hands
with JATA Chairman Shinmachi |
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