On October 17, a reception was held at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence to celebrate the opening of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) Manila office.
Ambassador Haneda and JNTO President Seino hosted many guests including Congressman Kawai, Special Advisor for Foreign Affairs to President Shinzo Abe of the Liberal Democratic Party, Japan Travel Agency Commissioner Tabata, Philippine Tourism Secretary Puyat and Finance Secretary Dominguez. They toasted the opening as a symbol of the developing bilateral relationships and showed strong expectations for JNTO’s activities in Manila. Actor Empoy Marquez who co-stared in the highly successful Filipino movie “Kita-Kita” that was shot entirely in Hokkaido, appeared as a special guest and entertained the attendees with his humorous remarks.
JNTO’s Manila office, its 21st overseas agency, opened on October 1 to create greater awareness and develop the market further in the Philippines. While the number of Filipino tourists to Japan have quintupled over the past five years, JNTO will undertake aggressive promotions to entice more Filipinos to travel and enjoy Japan. The Japanese government hopes to welcome 40 million foreign tourists annually by 2020.
