Don't go there; go here: Japan's new tourism campaign

It is well known that Japan's major tourist destinations are overflowing with visitors.

In cities like Kyoto, locals have expressed frustration at the flood of foreigners.

Now Japan Airlines (JAL) and Hoshino Resorts have launched the "All-time Favourite v Hidden Gems" campaign to try to mitigate against overtourism and contribute to regional revitalisation.

In some cases it may be too late. On a recent visit to Kanazawa I saw several signs at restaurants saying that non-Japanese speakers were not welcome.

The two companies aim to attract visitors to regions outside of Japan's major metropolitan areas by promoting the charm of lesser-known destinations where many untapped tourism resources lie.

The annual Accommodation Travel Statistical Survey by the Japan Tourism Agency showed the total number of foreign guest room nights in 2023 reached approximately 117.75 million nationwide, surpassing the pre-pandemic level of 2019.

Five prefectures: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hokkaido, and Fukuoka accounted for 73% of the total share, with only a small number of inbound tourists travelling to more rural areas.

JAL and Hoshino Resorts have introduced extensive content on a dedicated campaign website, covering themes such as cherry blossoms, festivals, autumn leaves, snow and nature/activities.

It highlights the “All-time Favourite” destinations, that are loved by visitors and “hidden gems” that are yet to be further explored.

Nagato City in Yamaguchi Prefecture is a “Hidden Gem” where visitors can enjoy strolling along the cherry blossom-lined paths beside the Otozure River. This historical hot spring town is where feudal lords of the Edo period would visit for therapeutic baths.

The companies have also launched both domestic and international Instagram posting campaigns to encourage the sharing of lesser-known yet captivating aspects of Japan's rural regions - places that people want to share with the world or have visited and enjoyed.

Additionally, a package deal combining JAL flights and accommodations at select Hoshino Resorts properties is available for inbound tourists travelling from December 11, 2024, with the end date to be determined.

Here's a link to my recent story on less touristy Hida Takayama.

https://www.gourmetontheroad.com/2024/08/hida-takayama-often-known-as-simply.html

Top image: Nagato. ©︎Hoshino Resorts

Air New Zealand develops its own wine brand

Air New Zealand will soon be flying direct from Auckland to New York - and is also introducing its own wines for flyers to enjoy en route. 

Air New Zealand has announced plans to create its own wine brand to be enjoyed by customers both in the air and on the ground. 

Named Thirteen Forty Five, the label will pay tribute to the airline's inaugural flight from Auckland to Sydney in 1940, which spanned 1345 miles. 

The flight was operated by Air New Zealand's predecessor, TEAL (Tasman Empire Airways Limited), and that flight marked the beginning of a new era of air travel that would connect New Zealand to the world.

Crafted in collaboration with renowned New Zealand wine producer Villa Maria, part of Indevin Group, Thirteen Forty Five will launch with a signature sauvignon blanc and a pinot noir, available exclusively to Air New Zealand customers.

Air New Zealand has worked with winemakers on the ground in Marlborough to create bespoke blends that capture the essence of New Zealand's most famous wine regions.

Air New Zealand general manager for customer experience, Kylie McGillivray-Brown, says each wine has been crafted with special attention to how flavours are experienced at altitude.

"This wasn't about simply putting our label on a bottle - we've collaborated with Indevin's world-class winemakers to craft these unique blends, creating an exclusive experience for our customers, whether they're savouring it at 30,000 feet alongside our thoughtfully-curated menu, or in our lounges," she said.

"Each pour will be a toast to the journeys that have connected New Zealanders with each other and New Zealand to the world."

Thirteen Forty Five will be available from March 2025 in premium economy, Air New Zealand lounges, and on the Airpoints Store. 

For a limited time, customers will also be able to enjoy it during Koru Hour on select domestic flights.

"From Waiheke Island to Central Otago, it's a privilege to showcase the very best of New Zealand winemaking and share it with the world," says McGillivray-Brown.

Delamain goes big to celebrate 200 years of Cognac

 

The House of Delamain, a leading Cognac producer, has gone all out to impress as it celebrates its 200th anniversary.

As part of its bicentennial celebrations, it has released L’Edition Rare du Bicentenaire, a blend of five rare extra-old Cognacs exclusively from the prestigious Grande Champagne terroir.

Presented in a 10-litre demijohn crafted by the Parisian Maison d’Art Goossens - known for its artistic goldsmithing - the release “embodies 200 years of accumulated savoir-faire and Delamain’s impassioned curiosity as to the natural world”.

Founded in 1824 in Jarnac, the House of Delamain remains family-operated in partnership with the Bollinger Champagne group. 

“Now as then, nature, time, and people are at the heart of everything we do, and the most exquisite cognacs lie ahead,” says managing director Eric le Bouar.

In addition to the exclusive demijohn, 200 individually numbered bottles of L’Edition Rare du Bicentenaire will be released in December. 

Khe Sanh half a century on

"I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh

And my soul was sold with my cigarettes to the black-market man"

- Khe Sanh, Cold Chisel

--

"I had a brother at Khe Sanh

Fighting off them Viet Cong

They're still there, he's all gone'

- Born in the USA, Bruce Springsteen

It looks just like many other small country towns in the highland of Vietnam; slow paced, surrounded by untamed terrain but modern and full of noisy motor bikes. 

We are around 10km from the border with Laos.

At the local market there are unfortunate chickens tightly packed into metal cages, awaiting their fate. Ready to be purchased, slaughtered and plucked on the spot.

There are songbirds in tiny wooden cages. You would like to release them, but they would not survive out of captivity.

But sudden death is not uncommon in these parts. The small town’s name is known around the world: Khe Sanh.

Just take a drive of around 2km from the main street of the capital of Qung Tri Province – there are no signposts that I could see – and you will find yourself at what the locals call San Bay Ta Con.

Khe Sanh Combat Base was a United States Marine Corps outpost just south of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and a key battleground during the Vietnam War (which the Vietnamese call the American War).

Khe Sanh occupies a key spot on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of roads and trails that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam including border regions of Laos and Cambodia.

It was a route used to move supplies and reinforcements from the north into the south via 
Laos, which the Americans and their allies wanted to halt.

The Battle of Khe Sanh ran from January 21-July 9, 1968, with US forces defending their combat base against the North Vietnamese People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN).

The base was subjected to artillery, mortar, and rocket attacks, and several infantry assaults, placing it under siege.

The Royal Australian Air Force No 2 Squadron took part in daylight bombing operations around the base, occasionally also flying night missions.

After many bloody battles, the base was eventually evacuated and largely destroyed. The Battle of Khe Sanh was widely believed to have played a major role in distracting US forces from the crucial Tet Offensive that foreshadowed the end of the war.

The defenders’ losses were reported to be about 1,000 killed and 4,500 wounded, with North Vietnamese casualties believed to be far higher, but unsubstantiated.

Small parts of the Khe Sanh runways survive and there are munitions, several tanks and helicopters and transport aircraft captured from fleeing US forces a half a century ago that lie scattered around the former base.

A Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Boeing CH-47 Chinook and a Bell UH-1 Iroquois are all on display.

You can walk through some remaining tunnels of the base, peer through the firing slits in the camouflaged bunkers, even jump onto one of the tanks for a happy snap.

Many of the few Australian and US visitors visiting on this October day do. 

But this is a melancholy place, eerily quiet, with barely a bird to be heard. The same is true
of Dachau and other places where bad things happened.

Much of the fertile red soil surrounding the base is now used for agriculture: coffee plants thrive here, as do avocadoes. Green peppers, sugar cane, passionfruit, and taro leaves (similar to spinach) are also grown here. 

But much of what used to be Khe Sanh military base is now simply overgrown. Reclaimed by nature.

There is a lady serving Ta Lu Khe Sanh coffee at the only concession kiosk. It is rather good.

She tries to convince me to take some home. 

The coffee beans are grown by members of two ethnic minority tribes in Huong Phung and Hương Tan.

The lack of mass tourism means the only seller of trinkets we see is selling pieces of shrapnel, and some bullets that may, or may not, be real.

While the outdoor exhibits are at the mercy of the elements and look a little down-at-heel, the small on-site museum is well maintained with commentary from one viewpoint. To the victor the spoils.

Not far from Khe Sanh you can also visit the Vinh Moc Tunnel, the tunnel shelters that Vinh 
Linh people used to hide from the intense bombing in the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, and other battlefields.

Strangely, while the name Khe Sanh may be known to just about every Australian, many young Vietnamese have never heard of the town or the battle. Several people I spoke to in Hanoi and Da Nang gave me blank looks when I mentioned it. 

There are a few small hotels in Khe Sanh town where visitors can stay - including the Hotel Thai Ninh and The Khe Sanh Luxury Hotel (both have rooms for $20-30 a night and get decidedly mixed reviews) - along with several decent eateries.

Most tourists, however, take a day trip or tour from either the former capital of Hue (around 2 ½ hours by car), or from Da Nang, where the Pullman Da Nang Beach is excellent place to stay. See https://www.pullman-danang.com/

# The writer was a guest of Vietjet, which flies to Ho Chi Minh City from major Australian cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth, and also connects Hanoi to Sydney and Melbourne. Economy fares start at around $250, while business class fares begin at $1,100. https://www.vietjetair.com/en

He paid his own way to Khe Sanh with Connect Travel, which conducts bespoke group and individual tours to both Khe Sanh and the DMZ. https://connecttravel.vn/en/product-category/tours/ 

# All images by Winsor Dobbin. This is an edited version of a story that appeared in Explore magazine. https://www.exploretravel.com.au/explore-magazine/ 

New Zealand considers imposing charges to enter national parks

Entry to New Zealand's myriad national parks has always been free for both locals and tourists.

But that may be about to change. 

 

New Zealand is considering charging fees for entry into its national parks for the first time, news portal Travel Mole reports.

The Department of Conservation has proposed fees to help fund conservation measures and infrastructure improvements.

It has put forward fees of NZ$20 (US$12) for New Zealanders and NZ$30 (US$18) for international visitors. Discrimination like that might prove controversial. 

Tourist fees to the parks would bring in about US $43 million annually, government projections show.

Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said there is an urgent need for more sustainable management of national parks.

“New Zealand’s ecosystems are declining and nearly 4,000 native species are either at risk or threatened with extinction,” he said.

“This highlights the fine balance between tourism and the fragility of the environment.”

New Zealand’s national parks welcome about 2.6 million visitors each year.

Potaka cited other major tourism countries which levy fees for national park access.

The proposal has had a mixed reaction with some organisations saying it should remain free for New Zealanders.

A period of public consultation has opened seeking views on the idea of charging entry fees for destinations like Milford Sound, Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Mount Cook.

The government is seeking feedback on the matter until February 2025.

Image: Milford Sound National Park  

Apocalyptic sandscape revealed as MONA's next scene stealer

Acclaimed French artist Théo Mercier has been unveiled as the man behind the next major installation at Hobart’s MONA museum.

Mercier, 40, is a contemporary sculptor and stage director who splits his time between Paris and Mexico City.

He is about to begin construction on an immense sand sculpture that will inhabit MONA's former library space.

To be created in situ from sand and water, DARK TOURISM will depict a debris-strewn landscape evoking the aftermath of disaster. It will open for viewing in February, 2025.

MONA owner and founder David Walsh says: "When Théo was last in Hobart he said he was 'going for a walk.' He walked to the top of kunanyi (Mount Wellington). He’s back, and he’ll be doing something just as mad at MONA."

Mercier’s site-specific installation will be a new work commissioned by MONA and its presentation will be his first time exhibiting in Australia. 

The installation will take inspiration from the notion of ‘dark tourism’: our human propensity to seek out and travel to places associated with suffering and death. 

Tourists have long made visits to sites charged with history’s grim residue, from Pompeii to Auschwitz, the catacombs of Paris to the Cambodian killing fields, Hiroshima to Ground Zero, and Tasmania’s Port Arthur, the MONA team points out. 

DARK TOURISM is also a commentary on earth’s changing climate and its impact on the environment and humanity. 

Visitors to MONA are promised a scene reminiscent of the wake of a hurricane, landslide or tsunami. 

"Crafted entirely from Tasmanian sand, Théo's work is a reminder of the fragile and temporary nature of the world around us, and of life itself," says MONA curator Sarah Wallace. 

"I hope visitors will be drawn in by the intricate detail in this captivating installation, while reflecting on the questions he raises about how we cope with catastrophe."

 

A recent Mercier sandscape in Prague

Mercier asks: "What does it mean to sculpt catastrophe, or to construct collapse? 

"Like others who have painted ruins in the past, DARK TOURISM is about sculpting contemporary ruins, which are also natural disasters. 

"Faced with this frozen landscape, humans find themselves at the heart of the devastation, as spectators and consumers. 

"But there's something contradictory about this project, something romantic and utopian at the same time. Because the sand allows the world to tremble and shuffle itself in infinite figures."

Théo Mercier: DARK TOURISM will run at MONA from Saturday, February 15, 2025, until Monday, February 16, 2026. 

Images: Jérôme Lobato, and Gut city punch, 2023, French Pavillon, Prague Quadrennial, Ondrej Pribyl