Everyone knows the Japanese like to travel. In the West the sight of the Japanese tourist with camera in hand has become ubiquitous. But has anyone stopped to think what brought the Japanese tourist to countries like New Zealand? The story behind this is a convoluted tale of unadulterated greed and has little or nothing to do with pleasing the tourists. Let's start at the beginning. The Japanese travel to work by train. They work long hours and face a long commute as well. They're often tired and endure cramped living conditions. But there is some respite. At the railway stations and nearby there are strategically located travel shops selling a dream of an idyll far away. The locations are numerous but they all have one thing in common, tranquillity. For an agreed fee they place the weary commuter on a virtual conveyor belt which takes them to that land of dreams. Sun, sand, surf, and maybe some cute sheep. Almost certainly cute sheep. And if it doesn't rain, mountains.

This scenario looks like a win-win, right? Err, well, not quite. It turns out the largest operator of those travel shops is run by JTB, a company formerly known as Japan Travel Bureau before they decided to hide behind anonymous lettering. JTB is as recognisable a brand in Japan as Coca-Cola. Maybe more so. It is trusted implicitly. JTB is owned by the Japan Rail Companies, JR for short, which are in turn owned by the Government of Japan. The commuter is often travelling on State-owned rail and then buying their overseas trip from an indirectly State-owned entity. There are few bargains.

Why the Government involvement in these travel shops? The simple answer is found by looking at the success of Japan's export industries. Electronics, cars, equipment, you name it and they make it better than anyone else. That success creates a trade imbalance. So what does Japan do? They get their people to travel overseas, which balances the books, and their trade partners are happy. But hey, given they're doing this to simply keep other countries happy, wouldn't it make sense to keep a tight control of every facet of the transaction? Well of course it would, especially as those travellers would be otherwise better off in factories making cars or something!  So through the great JTB the tourist is sold a package. Then they are fed through the system and at every step stage managed by the great JTB who look to further sell add-ons when they arrive at their destination. The profits from this exercise amount to an indirect tax on the tourist.

Meanwhile in the colonies like New Zealand, the suppliers are screwed to the deck. These suppliers are often cowed into submission as they fear being taken off the drip feed. JTB is a capricious master. One story to illustrate the extent of this is with a large bus company which found its competitor being allowed to use obviously inferior buses. They arranged a complete line up of its fleet along with drivers on their own time to demonstrate their equivalence. JTB agreed to inspect them but on the day sent an office boy who arrived and asked the manager what he was expected to do? The manager said he'd better step on to each bus and look around so the drivers thought something was being done. To this day that bus company has never had one of those classes of buses booked by JTB.

Redundancies, Freebies

Then there are the staffing arrangements. JTB favours its Japanese staff over other nationalities in the colonies. The pecking order is Japanese men hired in Japan first, then any other Japanese men, then Japanese women, then everyone else. JTB routinely show contempt for their clients, staff and suppliers. Then the global financial crisis hit. The great recession. Suddenly not so many people in Japan were wanting to travel to New Zealand. Of course the exchange rate changed which effectively halved the cost of a holiday in New Zealand, so what did JTB do? Did they discount their prices? Uh no, they decided to make their most experienced staff in New Zealand redundant. It just so happens every staff member they made redundant was a woman, and all of them either a New Zealander or someone permanently resident. They kept their Japanese staff in the country on working visas.

Now it just so happens that one month before this decision was announced Tourism New Zealand brought three JTB big wigs to New Zealand with the express intention of promoting the country as a destination. The JTB Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer was accommodated at places like the Stamford Plaza and taken on a helicopter trip in Queenstown. They knew they were laying off staff but took the freebies anyway. Class acts. The JTB Group corporate Website spouts the lofty ideals : “ The JTB Group in its entirety aims to expand its operational scope from the comprehensive travel industry to the cultural exchange industry”. To borrow from a well known billboard campaign : Yeah, right.