Whether it be the autumn foliage of Vermont, the Freedom Trail in Massachusetts, the lobsters of Maine, the rugged coastline of New Hampshire, the historic mansions of Rhode Island or the beaches of Connecticut, but the six states of New England are drawing more and more tourists every year, particularly from Japan.
“Japanese travelers are willing to explore more than any other traveler. So we decided to look at Japan as one of our primary markets about five years ago as a result of the new flights coming from Japan,” said Lori Harnois, the Executive Director at Discover New England, a non-profit cooperative set up to promote tourism to the region.
The decision to target Japan come following DNE’s success in marketing the region in the United Kingdom and Germany through collaborations with tour operators, travel trade media and consumer media.
According to Harnois, DNE benefited a lot from its relationship with American marketing experts Global Consulting, judging by the growing number of Japanese tour companies organizing group trips to Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
To further increase brand awareness, DNE will host partners, tour operators and travel media during its 21st Annual Tourism Summit and International Marketplace to be held at Newport, Rhode Island next year.
“We feel that in three to five down the road, we really need to continue to build on our marketing mix so that we’re not so reliant on one country. This could be China and Australia. We want to be strategic about telling the story of New England,” said Harnois.
