Following the lead of other U.S. localities, Boston is banking on the latest Japanese sports superstar to boost its number of tourists from Japan.
The Boston Red Sox last month signed pitching phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka to a six-year, $52 million contract. The right-hander, whose first name is pronounced dice-kay, in March led Japan to the championship of the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
Red Sox executives, along with city and state officials, are at "the earliest stages of trying to package tickets with travel opportunities," to attract visitors from Japan, says Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino.
"His popularity and recognition are gigantic," Lucchino says.
Matsuzaka's arrival will freshen Boston's tourism pitch after 20 years of showcasing its academic institutions, historical sites and proximity to Cape Cod, says William MacDougall, CEO of Tourism Massachusetts, the agency that markets Boston and Massachusetts worldwide.
MacDougall already expects Massachusetts this year will win at least 20,000 extra visitors from Japan, worth an additional $75 million in economic impact. The new Japan connection could even help the city win non-stop air service between Boston and Japan, he says.
"This suddenly puts Boston on the map at a different cultural level," he says. Developing tour packages will be key, he says, because about 42% of Japanese travelers to the USA buy packaged tours.
Nationally, the USA can use the help in building up Japanese tourism. Japanese arrivals to the USA remain below pre-9/11 levels, down 23% in 2005 from their peak in 2000.
Japan-born baseball stars have already helped expand visitor numbers elsewhere. In Seattle, with its heavy concentration of Asian-Americans, Mariners' All-Star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki sparked such interest among Japanese fans that the stadium posted signs for restrooms in Japanese.
"The Japanese are just avid baseball fans. They will travel to see their star players," says Don Welsh, CEO of the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The average Japanese tourist who stops in Seattle stays there for four nights, catches two or three games, then spends another week visiting nearby cities such as Portland and Vancouver, Welsh says.
Since catcher Kenji Johjima joined the Mariners in November 2005, tour operators have started selling packages from his native region of Kyushu, says Michael Kurtz, who heads the Seattle bureau's efforts in Asia.
In New York, Yankee outfielder Hideki Matsui was named a New York City tourism ambassador.
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少なくとも２万人以上、日本からの旅行客が増えて、７５００万ドル。落札額の５２００万ドルを上回る。これなら、松坂の年俸を上げて欲しかった。
The Boston Red Sox last month signed pitching phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka to a six-year, $52 million contract. The right-hander, whose first name is pronounced dice-kay, in March led Japan to the championship of the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
Red Sox executives, along with city and state officials, are at "the earliest stages of trying to package tickets with travel opportunities," to attract visitors from Japan, says Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino.
"His popularity and recognition are gigantic," Lucchino says.
Matsuzaka's arrival will freshen Boston's tourism pitch after 20 years of showcasing its academic institutions, historical sites and proximity to Cape Cod, says William MacDougall, CEO of Tourism Massachusetts, the agency that markets Boston and Massachusetts worldwide.
MacDougall already expects Massachusetts this year will win at least 20,000 extra visitors from Japan, worth an additional $75 million in economic impact. The new Japan connection could even help the city win non-stop air service between Boston and Japan, he says.
"This suddenly puts Boston on the map at a different cultural level," he says. Developing tour packages will be key, he says, because about 42% of Japanese travelers to the USA buy packaged tours.
Nationally, the USA can use the help in building up Japanese tourism. Japanese arrivals to the USA remain below pre-9/11 levels, down 23% in 2005 from their peak in 2000.
Japan-born baseball stars have already helped expand visitor numbers elsewhere. In Seattle, with its heavy concentration of Asian-Americans, Mariners' All-Star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki sparked such interest among Japanese fans that the stadium posted signs for restrooms in Japanese.
"The Japanese are just avid baseball fans. They will travel to see their star players," says Don Welsh, CEO of the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The average Japanese tourist who stops in Seattle stays there for four nights, catches two or three games, then spends another week visiting nearby cities such as Portland and Vancouver, Welsh says.
Since catcher Kenji Johjima joined the Mariners in November 2005, tour operators have started selling packages from his native region of Kyushu, says Michael Kurtz, who heads the Seattle bureau's efforts in Asia.
In New York, Yankee outfielder Hideki Matsui was named a New York City tourism ambassador.
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少なくとも２万人以上、日本からの旅行客が増えて、７５００万ドル。落札額の５２００万ドルを上回る。これなら、松坂の年俸を上げて欲しかった。