Japan successfully holds 
its first MICE webinar in France

Paris, the 8th March 2021 – On 23rd February 2021, the Japan Convention Bureau, with the support of its partners Japan Airlines, JTB Europe and Prince Hotels & Resorts, held its first online event exclusively dedicated to French meeting and incentive planners.



Until they can meet again with meetings professionals, the Japan Convention Bureau is making full use of digital tools to continue informing on their destination, and assisting with the preparation of future event projects. An example is the online platform they created in partnership with JTB Europe, through which they offered users the experience of a virtual trade show.

The event started with a webinar where the Japan Convention Bureau and its partners presented the assets of the destination, their high-quality service, and their measures against the Covid 19 epidemic.

They started with an introduction to the country as a meetings destination, by presenting a selection of superb cities and venues adapted to the needs of the French market. It also gave an update on the Covid 19 epidemic in Japan, the measures adopted by the government and the MICE sector, and the start of the vaccination campaign. 

Japan Airlines (JAL) reminded the audience about its Europe/Japan network in cooperation with its airline partners British Airways, Finnair and Iberia. The speaker gave a presentation on JAL products and services, particularly on its direct route from Paris CDG to Tokyo Haneda. The presentation also covered its various commercial and hygiene measures during the epidemic, and its sustainability goals.

Prince Hotels & Resorts, currently operating 47 hotels in Japan, gave an overview of its hotels in the Tokyo City area. The group has a wide range of choices that will satisfy all needs, including a Forbes Travel Guide 5 star awarded hotel. Prince Hotels has also created its own Prince Safety Commitment to ensure the safety of the guests, and details are available on their website.

JTB Europe, a Japanese DMC founded in 1912, shared information and tips regarding the destination for event organisers in order to better sell and prepare travellers for the cultural differences before and after departure. They also gave advice on how to build MICE itineraries and types of events & trips, finishing with several examples of unique activities to do in Japan.
 
Interaction was also a key element of the webinar: quizzes and polls during the presentations, followed by a live Q&A session, allowed the audience to interact with the speakers. A replay has also been made available for those who could not attend the live webinar.



Participants enjoyed the format of the webinar just as much as its content. Aurélia Milleret de Brou, Event Communication Manager at Orange, called it a “great introduction to the destination”, and added that “it really made me want to organise an incentive in Japan”. Manual Galvao, Associate Director at Maman l’Agence (Terra Nova SAS), praised the “very professional speakers” and the “balanced repartition of time allotted to each”.

The webinar was followed by a virtual trade show in the afternoon where meeting planners had appointments with the four exhibitors and pursued the discussions started during the webinar. Virtual stands were also set up, where participants had access to the latest documents and videos from the exhibitors.

To thank the professionals for their participation, the Japan Convention Bureau sent a selection of sake bottles as a gift to taste from home, so they can discover the possibilities that Japanese gastronomy offers for alcohol and food pairings.



“The results of the event show its success: we received 63 registrations, a figure that greatly exceeded our expectations, and the satisfaction rate was 95%! Some discussions during the meetings concerned meeting and incentive projects from 2022, which shows that our destination is still in the planners’ mind and that it will be back on their agenda once the pandemic is under control”, states Mr Tsuyoshi Murakami, General Director of the Paris office of the Japan National Tourism Organization, the mother organisation of the Japan Convention Bureau.

For more information:
•    Japan Convention Bureau, Mr Aurélien Bandini: aurelien_bandini@jnto.go.jp
•    Japan Airlines, Mr Gilles Binard: gilles.r88w@jal.com
•    JTB Europe, Ms Marie-Charlotte Juge: MarieCharlotte.Juge@jtbeurope.com 
•    Prince Hotels & Resorts, Mr Satoshi Funatogawa: s.funatogawa@princehotels.uk