British TV dramas and films have led to a surge in Japanese tourists looking to the UK.
Two key tourism groups are Japanese women in their 30s and 40s and ‘Active Seniors’ who like British gardens, afternoon tea, heritage sites, filming locations and beautiful countryside.
National Japanese broadcaster, NHK, aired the first season of Downton Abbey and Season 3 of BBC’s Sherlock Holmes in May.
From the end of September, NHK will also start airing a locally-made 15-minute morning drama called "Massan" for six months, featuring Japanese whisky founder Mr Taketsuru and his Scottish wife.
Towards the end of 2014, the "Paddington" film will be released in Japan.
Research by StudioCanale shows that, at 69%, general awareness of Paddington Bear among parents is high in Japan, and 24% of Japanese people consider themselves to be Paddington fans.
VisitBrtiain held a seminar with Japanese travel industry representatives in London after its ‘Great Tourism Week’ travel trade roadshow which toured Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo in early July.
Over the last five years there has been a yearly average of 231,800 visits to Britain from Japan, with an average of £1,024 spent per visit – almost double the average across all markets.
