2011 will be remembered as a year when a number of epoch-making events affected different areas of the World. Major earthquakes in New Zealand and Eastern Turkey resulted in large-scale loss of life. And, here in Japan, the Tohoku Earthquake of March 11th resulted in the single largest loss of life since World War Two. Once again, we take this opportunity to pray for all who perished in these disasters.

The spread of anti-Government demonstrations in the Middle East and North Africa has led to political instability which will have long-term effects on Tourism. Add to these the financial crisis which reignited in Europe, leading to panic in global markets, and the strengthening of the Yen to a post-War record level of less than JPY 76 to USD 1, and it is apparent that the World is facing major change on a global scale, economically, industrially, and in almost every aspect of society. These occurrences and phenomena cannot be described in a single word, but I do feel that they have rendered the phrase ‘within the bounds of expectation’, which has been our measure for conventional wisdom, redundant.

2012 will bring political elections worldwide, including those in Russia, in March for the Presidency, France, India, China, the United States, Korea, Taiwan, and not least of course, another leadership election in the ruling DPJ in September, here in Japan. It is widely expected that the results of these elections worldwide will have a direct impact on the global economy, but it is my sincere hope that they will prove to be a springboard to set the World on a positive course ‘beyond the bounds of our expectation’.

Looking at the Travel Industry, the Tohoku Earthquake dealt the Tourism Sector a serious blow, and Inbound Travel in particular has been hit hard by the extremely strong Yen, and the braking effect that both of these factors have had on economic recovery has meant that even for Outbound Travel, circumstances have not been entirely favourable. There was, however, positive news, as along with the expansion of Open Skies Agreements, the implementation of late-night and early-morning departures and arrivals at Haneda Airport will, I am sure, be the precursor to the widening of flight access not only to East Asia and the ASEAN region, but globally, and provide a tailwind to the Travel Industry as a whole.

The revised version of the Japan Tourism Agency’s ‘Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan’ is expected this spring, and we share in the hope that it will establish even more challenging goals. And, in the rapidly expanding LCC sector, the advent of 3 japanese carriers should expedite competition with foreign-based LCCs, leading to the dawn of a new age in Air Travel. Particularly in view of the expected rebound in the Inbound Sector this year, we must anticipate that air seats will become more and more difficult to secure, meaning that future regulation of the LCC and Charter Sectors will strongly influence future trends in the Travel Industry.

This year is the Year of the Dragon. In fact, the specific traits of this Year of the Dragon are said to be ‘a sense of justice’ and ‘trust’. From new world leaders down, might not a greater adherence to these values of ‘a sense of justice’ and ‘trust’ lead to the realisation of World Peace, and allow people to come and go, secure in their own safety, in this age of mass interchange?

As OTOA members, we will seek to maintain and strengthen our relationships with other groups and organisations within the Industry, and aware of our individual obligations of ‘a sense of justice’ and ‘trust’, will continue to strive for the development of this Sector and the Tourism Industry as a whole. I humbly ask everyone in the Industry to extend their co-operation to OTOA members in their attempts to realize this goal in the year ahead.

Thank you!

Takahiko Ohata, Chairman