ANA and others looking at luxury tours to lure the rich to Japan

ANA Holdings and other firms in Japan are looking at offering luxury tours to attract to the country rich foreign visitors who spend large amounts when traveling. Aiming to create new businesses through the move with an eye toward the post-COVID-19 world and regional revitalization, they are currently discussing offering tours that allow participants to travel all around Japan for more than a week by private jet, with tour destinations based on themes such as history, nature and culture. Such plans are being considered by ANA Holdings-affiliated firms, Nippon Travel Agency, outdoor gear seller Snow Peak, the city of Tajimi in Gifu Prefecture and the Regional Revitalization and Inbound Tourism Council, which studies businesses targeting the wealthy. Trial tours were launched in April, also in cooperation with publishing firms and universities. The parties involved plan to pick around 10 destinations from across the country for the luxury trips by the end of the year, and to offer the tours from as early as next year. The main target of the tours is people known as ultra-high-net-worth individuals, or UHNWIs, each with at least $50m (¥6.7b) in financial assets. There are estimated to be some 210,000 UHNWIs in the world.<br/>