On a recent visit to South Coast Plaza, Japanese tourist Hiromi Umemoto said her reservations about coming to Southern California in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had been eased.
“I feel safe because the security should be tight,” she said. “My friends told me not to go, but I did not want to miss this opportunity.”
Umemoto, a housewife from northern Japan, came here to see her daughter, who is studying in the Southland. Local travel agencies and other businesses catering to Japanese visitors hope “brave” ones like Umemoto will keep coming to Southern California.
But the terrorist attacks have had a jarring effect on would-be Japanese visitors unused to such violence. Now the U.S. retaliatory strikes have made them even more jittery, officials say.
The pullback by Japanese visitors is an added blow to Orange County’s hotels, amusement parks, shopping malls and other businesses, which have seen cancelled conventions and a dramatic slowdown in visitors.
After Mexicans and Canadians, Japanese tourists are the most frequent visitors to the area, with about 800,000 visiting each year, according to Ann Gallaugher, director of tourism development for the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau.
And the Japanese are known as big spenders. Their favorite OC destinations are the Disneyland Resort, Knott’s Berry Farm and South Coast Plaza.
Mamoru and Mayumi Kato came for their nine-day honeymoon in Southern California and Las Vegas after U.S. airstrikes began. Their trip included a visit to South Coast Plaza, Disneyland and Universal Studios. “Our friends told us, ‘You are insane,’ ” said Mamoru Kato, who along with his wife hails from north of Tokyo. “But we are so glad to come here.”
JTB International Inc., the largest Japanese travel agency, saw a more than two-thirds decrease in visitors to California and Las Vegas after the retaliation, according to corporate planning manager Hajime Nozawa.
Still, Nozawa is optimistic: “In other words, just over one third of the typical number of Japanese tourists are still coming here this month.”
Kintetsu International Express Tour Operations Co. in Los Angeles said about 5,000 Japanese still plan to visit California through the end of the year. Both Kintetsu and JTB officials say they might offer new U.S. tours as hotels cut rates.
One group of Japanese visitors,couples coming to the Southland to get married,already has decided to stay home, according to officials.
Haruo Nakai, president of La Verne-based JAS Express Inc., which offers wedding packages to Japanese couples, said he is receiving cancellations every day since the U.S. attacks.
“I got sick of looking at my fax machine,” Nakai said.
About 800 Japanese couples used Nakai’s services last year. Disneyland and Knott’s are favorite locations. In September, 90% of couples canceled their Southern California weddings, Nakai said. He estimated his family business lost $100,000 in revenue that month.
A subtle silver lining is that some couples are postponing their Southland weddings until next year, he said.
Watabe USA Inc. in Santa Monica, a unit of Kyoto-based Watabe Wedding Corp., also provides wedding services to Japanese visitors. Bookings for October, the most popular month to tie the knot for the Japanese, were down 40%, according to flower division manger Tsujio Motonobu.
Now that the U.S. is waging war against suspected terrorists, Motonobu said his fear is that “no tourists will come.”
Some hotels, while suffering from lost business, are understanding. The Radisson Resort Knott’s Berry Farm and other Radisson hotels are waiving cancellation fees for group business until further notice.
Observers say would-be Japanese visitors are afraid because where and how terrorists might strike is so unpredictable.
“The Japanese believe that all the English-speaking locations where the U.S. dollar is legal tender are in danger,” said Toshiya Miyazaki, a travel journalist based in Tokyo.
That means the Japanese are canceling travel plans elsewhere, too. More than 210,000 Japanese have nixed trips abroad for the rest of the year, according to Japan Broadcasting Corp., which put the loss at $240 million.
Compounding matters is that the timing of the attacks coincided with the start of the Japanese tourist exodus. September to November is the most popular season for honeymooners as well as incentive and school tours. Several national holidays fall during the period, encouraging vacations.
But risk-shy Japanese companies and schools are reluctant to send people to the U.S. in the wake of the attacks. After the Persian Gulf War, Nakai of JAS said it took six months for his business to come back to normal. He said he is afraid the nature of the attacks,targeting civilians,will prolong the drag on the industry.
Journalist Miyazaki believes the Japanese will start traveling again a few months after “the uncertainty about the retaliation is cleared.”
For now, Japanese travel agents are trying to convince visitors that Southern California is safe, according to JTB’s Nozawa.
“Those who come to Southern California after the events will witness how peaceful the region is,” he said. “Back home, they will encourage their folks to visit America.” n
