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www.travelweekly-asia.com | 3 TALKING POINT Siew Hoon is a traveller who loves to write and a writer who loves to travel. She's combined her two loves into a career in travel journalism that has seen her launch several travel industry titles and conferences, including WIT. She loves the change and discovery that comes with travel and the business. Published by NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA SINGAPORE PTE LTD SINGAPORE 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652 • TEL: +65-6801-0450 FAX: +65-6801-0469 BEIJING Room 024, Building 8, Qijiayuan Diplomatic Compound, No.9 Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District 100600, China • TEL: +8610-8532 3611 | FAX: +8610-8532 5293 SHANGHAI Room 2553, The Headquarters Building, No.168 Central XiZhang Road, Shanghai 200001, China • TEL: +8621-5179 8360 | FAX: +8621-5179 8360 Travel Weekly Asia is published on a monthly basis by Northstar Travel Media Singapore Pte Ltd. Located at 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652. All rights reserved. Volume 10 Issue 7 Please address all subscription mail to the above address, Fax +852 3020 5794, or email travelweeklyasia@asia-ad.net. Online Subscription: www.travelweekly-asia.com/subscribe For reprints or copyright permission contact Travel Weekly Asia at +65 6801 0450 or email to twasia-salesmtg@travelweekly.com Printed by TIMES PRINTERS PRIVATE LIMITED (L008/08/2018) Travel Weekly Asia is BPA audited, with 11,100 print circulation and 22,265 eNewsletter circulation as of Dec 31, 2018. Around the world, BPA is the preferred third-party auditor for advertiser-supported business publications (including print and digital editions). BPA verifies paid, controlled, or any combination of paid and controlled circulation, and reports the data in a single Brand Report. Founded in 1931 BPA Worldwide is an independent, not-for-profit, self-regulating organization governed by a tripartite Board. 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Kemp CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Lisa Cohen PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP Robert G. Sullivan CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER Matthew Yorke EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/GROUP PUBLISHER David Blansfield EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Arnie Weissmann SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/CHIEF CONTENT DIRECTOR Lori Cioffi SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES Janine L. Bavoso SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION Roberta Muller SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, IT INFRASTRUCTURE & OPERATIONS Rich Mastropietro VICE PRESIDENT, INFORMATION PRODUCTS GROUP Sheila Rice VICE PRESIDENT, DATABASE PRODUCTS Elizabeth Koesser TRAVEL WEEKLY EVENTS PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP Robert G. Sullivan SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EVENTS, TRAVEL GROUP Alicia Evanko-Lewis The Dawning Of Japan's New Golden Age "Are we moving already?" We had not even put away our bags, let alone settled, when we realised the Shinkansen was already in motion. We are headed to Kanazawa after two days of WiT Japan & North Asia where the talk was about how technology was changing travel in Japan – robot dances and Samurai workouts now bookable online, and alternative accommodation being created out of empty homes in abandoned villages as Japan's population declines by about 1,148 people a day, a data point we learnt from analyst Jesper Koll. Taking the Shinkansen out of Tokyo to anywhere in Japan is like taking a fast train back to the past. You are transported at bullet speed from a city that's inspired sci-fi writers like William Gibson to places that remain mired in traditions and retain a Japanese-ness. To me, Japan is made up of two worlds – Tokyo that is like a space station orbiting out there where the future is being created, and the rest of Japan happy to remain as it is, with some places being reluctantly dragged into the future. In Kanazawa, the train station looks like it's been designed in outer space – fluid, flowing lines of steel and concrete that speak of Japanese engineering at its finest. This city of under 500,000 people retains its traditions within the walls of its old city, canal walks, Kenrokuen castle and Samurai district with its old shrines. Most of the local restaurants take cash only. English is hardly spoken. As with most destinations in Japan, Kanazawa, a three-and-a-half hour train ride from Tokyo, is seeing more foreign travellers who are discovering its charms. It's easy to spot the tourists – they are the only ones wearing kimonos. In Kyoto, kimono rental is big business – and I find myself wondering what do local residents think of this? Do they mind their national attire being usurped by foreigners so they can have "selfie" moments like this? At WiT Japan & North Asia, beyond how technology was changing travel, there was also talk about how the growth in inbound tourism is changing Japan. In Kyoto, where we hear reports of over-crowding and local businesses being swamped by tourists during peak season, tourism authorities are running programmes to educate tourists on local customs and traditions. While inbound is clearly the top story in Japan, the audience at WiT was also reminded not to write off outbound. Having stagnated in recent years, there are signs of an uptick – Japanese overseas travellers in 2017 reached 17.89 million, the second most travellers after 2012, and the number continued to grow in 2018 to 18.9 million. Economist and analyst Jesper Koll of WisdomTree Asset Management spoke of the dawning of "Japan's New Golden Age" – while its population may be dwindling, Japan was creating a new middle class as well as having the richest baby boomers in the world. With the world's best income distribution, he said the Japanese economy was bringing up the bottom and employment was still growing. That also means an engaged human capital with older women returning to the workforce. What this means is a fair and equitable society in a nation of nearly 130 million people, who have the means and inclination to travel. This is an abridged version of an article that first appeared in Web in Travel.

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