Narita rolls out mat for Chinese tourists

NARITA, Chiba Prefecture--Businesses and other facilities here are rolling out the welcome mat for the throngs of Chinese tourists expected now that conditions for visas have been relaxed to allow more individuals to visit Japan.

Those involved want to strengthen Narita's position as the gateway to Japan even as Haneda Airport expands its international flights.

Inside Narita International Airport, for example, a video-equipped telephone has been installed on an experimental basis to provide information to travelers in Chinese. The videophone connects to Chinese-speaking airport staff.

Outside the airport on Friday morning, 10 people wearing T-shirts identifying themselves as members of the group Treasure Hunter Narita Kuentai (Narita air support) distributed "treasure bags" to Chinese tourists strolling along the path to Naritasan Shinshoji temple.

The bags contained cookies and pickles provided by stores along the path as well as products from Narita Airport.

Members of the support group come from the local Chamber of Commerce, Junior Chamber and Narita International Airport Corp. The group was established to highlight the attractions of Narita before Haneda Airport expands its international flights from October.

The Narita city government has also begun a campaign called "Last Night in Narita," which is aimed at encouraging tourists to spend their last night in Japan at a Narita hotel.

"Before the completion of Haneda's fourth runway, there is an urgent need to create a brand that makes people want to come to Narita," said Toshihiro Katayama, Narita's deputy mayor and the support group's key adviser. "We want to first publicize our efforts to Chinese tourists whose numbers are increasing."

About 1 million Chinese visited Japan last year, more than double the number in 2003. There were 316,000 Chinese arrivals at Narita Airport in fiscal 2003, placing them fourth behind visitors from South Korea, the United States and Taiwan.

However, by fiscal 2008, China had moved to first place with about 588,000 arriving passengers.

With the relaxation of visa conditions from July, an official at Narita International Airport said, "In addition to the large tour groups, there has been an increase in smaller groups of about five tourists."

Stores in and around the airport are stepping up efforts to enable purchases with the popular China Union Pay (CUP) debit card.

About 10 minutes by car from the airport, all the specialty stores at the Aeon Mall Narita have installed terminals for the CUP debit card.

The Fa-So-La Akihabara duty-free shop at Narita's Terminal 1, where Chinese tourists account for about 40 percent of sales, makes a point of showing tourists that its staff can speak Chinese.

Ayako Ueta, submanager of the outlet, said: "There are some people who spend about 300,000 yen ($3,400) on rice cookers and cameras. With more middle-class visitors from July, we feel that items costing between 1,000 and 2,000 yen, such as electric shavers and candy, will sell."