In what some may find a surprising move, Tourism Australia will recommence marketing in Japan as early as next month as the country continues to feel the effects of the recent earthquake and tsunami, and ongoing nuclear disaster.

TA Managing director Andrew McEvoy said that it was “in the Japanese DNA to travel” and expects the country to be resilient.

Speaking at the Australian Tourism Exchange in Sydney, Mr McEvoy spoke to attendees which included 22 Japanese travel trade representatives and five media

“We will make sure we do it with some taste and some style. Japan will galvanise, it will get strong again and it will grow. It’s in the Japanese DNA to travel,” McEvoy said.

“It the short term we are not running ads, there would be no point. But there are already some good signs of people wanting to resume outbound travel.”

TA's intentions come as Jetstar axes four weekly flights to Japan from Cairns and the Gold Coast. The Cairns to Tokyo, and Cairns to Osaka routes are the local services impacted.
 
Cairns Airport General Manager Aviation Business Development, Rob Evans, said this move by Jetstar was to be expected given the impacts of the recent tragic events in Japan.
 
“We are confident in Jetstar’s long term commitment to both Cairns and Japan,” Mr Evans said.
 
“The short-term option for triangulation with the Gold Coast is beneficial for Cairns as it allows us to maintain our presence in the Japanese market, giving us a good position from which to rebuild passenger numbers as that country begins to recover.”