Leaders
of the tourism industry in Europe and Japan ,
meeting at the European Tourism Summit in Lucerne
last week, concluded with an agreement that Japan ’s
tough consumer laws are acting in a counterproductive way when it comes to
group tourism in Europe and urgently need
reform.
Under
Japanese law, a consumer who does not receive exactly the product specified
will be entitled to punitive levels of compensation even if the provider offers
him a superior replacement. Therefore,
if, for example a Japanese tour group is promised a four star hotel and instead
is provided accommodation either in another four star hotel of similar standard
or in a superior five star property; the travel agent in Japan will still be
liable to pay substantial compensation and the suppliers will be asked to
contribute in full or in part.
Fenella
Bishop, President, TravCorp S.A said: “For many years hoteliers were prepared
to accept the Japanese Travel Laws but the advent of alternative distribution
channels, in particular the internet and dot.com companies, which do not require
them to block off inventory at low rates, means that they will no longer adhere
to laws which are not in line with European laws. Whilst Japanese consumers are welcomed for
their politeness and charm, the low materialisation rate of Japanese series and
heavy penalties in the event of a ‘book out’ means more and more hotels are
looking for other markets that are more flexible. And with emerging markets such as China demanding exponentially more space, and South America , Russia
and the Middle East also booming, they don’t
have to look far”.
In
the past, Japanese agents provided hotel lists with a large number of hotels
which were approved for use; although a book out even to an hotel on the list
after documents had been issued to clients would still require
compensation. However, a recently
emerging trend is to provide lists with only one or two hotels, which makes
initial procurement extremely difficult and penalties in the event of a book
out to a hotel not on the list even heavier.
The
laws entitle the Japanese consumer to compensation for any change to the
service promised by their agent. For
example, if a Japanese person is given a room with a shower but no bath and, on
complaint, declines to move until the next day to a room with bath, due perhaps
to time constraints, he will still be entitled to compensation.
Service
is key for the Japanese guest and traditionally Japanese agents offer their
clients a wide choice of departure dates and this results in low
materialisation or small group sizes. Given that Japanese agents cancel only 30 days
prior to departure, hotels are left with unsold space.
"This
actually creates a problem for us..." explains Tetsunori Dambara,
Executive Officer of Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) and Vice Chairman
of its Team Europe Committee: “With demand for European hotels of the right
standard for the Japanese market outstripping supply, we really struggle to
source the accommodation we want. If our
hands were less tied by our own legislation, we could provide our clients with
a better product and a better service.”
The
meeting resolved that ETOA would prepare a report for JATA to use when making
the political case in Japan
