InsideJapan is putting together live virtual tours from Japan to showcase the destination in the lead up to this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The specialist tour operator has announced a live trade-only fam trip, plus three live ‘Virtually InsideJapan’ guided tours for consumers, starting from next week.
The company said the decision to launch further virtual tours followed the success of its March event, which attracted more than 1,000 viewers live and a further 7,000 post-event.
Partnerships manager James Mundy said: “Having already run a live walking tour of Kyoto during peak cherry blossom season back in March, it became obvious that there was a demand for these live events. We were inundated with glowing feedback from nostalgic past customers, excited clients still waiting to travel and inspired potential customers pondering their next trip.”
The travel agent-focused ‘Virtually InsideJapan FAM’ will broadcast live from Bristol, where the operator is based, and from Tokyo, on May 13.
As well as streaming images and sounds live from Japan, the operator’s staff, including its agent sales team, will be on hand to answer any questions on the virtual tour.
Agent sales manager Matt Spiller said: “Following our first live event, we had many of our agent partners come to us, keen to repeat something similar but specifically aimed at them.
“In the post-pandemic build up to travel, we want to offer agents the opportunity to knowledgeably convey to their clients what makes Japan special – and hopefully sell that Japan trip confidently and quickly. We hope that this style of virtual live fam will enable them do that.”
Three ‘Virtually InsideJapan’ live walking tours are in the pipeline for later in May and June, starting with Tokyo’s old Asakusa district in mid-May and followed by the ancient capital of Nara and the foodie capital of Osaka in June.
The walking tours will be followed by further live InsideJapan events across the country to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer. The games were postponed as a result of the pandemic. Organisers have said that international visitors cannot attend.
Agents can sign up for the virtual fam trip here