In this video you’ll hear from Inside Travel's business development manager Charlie Orr and TTG’s content writer Charlotte Cullinan.
Meet Charlie
In the video you'll hear from InsideTravel's business development manager Charlie Orr, who introduces himself here:
"Hi, I’m Charlie, from InsideJapan Tours and InsideAsia Tours!
Japan has been my passion for decades! I first went to Japan at the eager age of 18 when I backpacked across the entire country. Since then, I’ve spent three years living on the rural island of Shikoku working in a high school and even managed to study Japanese at Kyushu University.
My time in this amazing country is something I’m desperate to share with as many people as possible experience so they can experience it for themselves – think sipping sake in an izakaya with locals after work or staying at a family-run ryokan inn in Japan.
These are the experiences that will not disappoint – but are hard to plan for yourself.
Whatever your version of a cultural adventure, InsideJapan and InsideAsia will create it, by combining your must-see sights with hands-on cultural experiences and slices of everyday local life."
Video transcript
Charlotte: Welcome to our In The Spotlight video with Inside Travel and its brands Inside Asia and Inside Japan. Charlie, today we're going to be talking about why agents should be promoting a trip to Japan and South Korea in the summer months. So tell us, why is it such a great time to visit?
Charlie: First off, it's one of those seasons that often gets overlooked, simply because if you Google the best time of year to travel to both Japan and South Korea, then you're going to be hit with things like the cherry blossoms and the autumn leaves. And the summer is usually seen as the rainy season, so it usually puts a lot of people off. However, it opens up so much potential for people looking into travelling at such a magical time of year. And to be honest, it's actually my favourite time of year to travel to both Japan and South Korea, just in terms of the potential and what you can experience, the raw kind of energy of these destinations during this amazing time.
Charlotte: Fantastic, thank you. And tell us about some of the unique experiences that only happen in summer.
Charlie: In both Japan and South Korea, the summer is a time of celebration. It's a time of festivals, and it's a time of kind of spending time with loved ones and families in such a unique way. So the festivals in both Japan and South Korea are really unique. When you go to a festival in Japan, you wear something called the yukata, which is similar to a Japanese kimono, which you can probably imagine but a much thinner and you generally tend to wear wooden clogs as well, and you've got a bit of a fan, so you like hand in hand, you go with your partner or your family dressed up in this yukata and then you try street food, you enjoy the magical performances as well. So you've got taiko drums, amazing fireworks so it is not necessarily something that you need a ticket for, you just need to be in the city during this energy.
Another really interesting thing about going in the summer is the changing attitudes of both Japan and South Korea. Now, I think from an external point of view, they're seen as quite straight-laced, doing up their top buttons and doing everything logically and to the minute. Whereas in the summer months, as soon as it starts getting a bit hotter, people start to relax a bit more, and you can see this in the salarymen in Japan in terms of what they're wearing. Usually throughout the year, they're wearing their full suits. Tie done up properly, everything like that. But in the summer months, they're allowed to wear something called ‘Cool Biz’, which is a government institution essentially that they've introduced where they're allowed to wear short sleeve shirts. So it demonstrates people are starting to become more relaxed. So they start to just go with the flow a little bit more and start to be in that kind of celebratory mood, that sort of festival mood.
And then, where better to spend your evenings than a beer garden, which you see all over both Japan and South Korea, where you've got people of all ages, so families, older people, salarymen, kids even, all celebrating together in these environments, which is just fab.
Another really special thing about travelling during the summer seasons is just the vibrancy of the countryside in both Japan and South Korea. Now, both of these countries are incredibly mountainous. But it's the perfect time to actually kind of strap on your hiking boots and getting out into the mountains, because the nature is just so lush and green. It's honestly jaw dropping to see it in these seasons.
Charlotte: That's fascinating, thank you. And why should agents turn to your brands, Inside Asia and Inside Japan, for these types of holidays?
Charlie: So we are travel specialists and we do know all of our destinations through and through. Each member of staff has lived, worked, and truly embodied all of these destinations. I myself lived in Japan for a number of years, and that's true with so many members of the team. We are able to offer unique options across these destinations. They get you away from those crowds, so elevating your own experiencing. Benefitting the communities that they serve as well and gives your clients something truly unique and stories to come back with that sort of breaks away from the usual mould.
Charlotte: Brilliant. Thank you. Now, you recently launched your ‘People Make It’ branding. So tell us what agents needs to know about that.
Charlie: People are behind everything that we do. So everything from our product team that goes out and meets with so many different suppliers to make sure that we've got the right experiences, the right accommodations behind each of our trips. So there's a person behind every single decision and itinerary that your clients will have laid out in front of them. I think what's really important, especially where there's really popular places like Japan, like Tokyo, Kyoto, or South Korea, like Seoul and Busan, then I would say confidently that they are year-round destinations. And summer is such a magical time because we're able to introduce the conversation with the city. So no matter what time of year you are going to these places, our people can show them at their best and really bring them to life for your clients in the best way.
So the big thing for us over the 25 years of being in business is that, please do use us as that resource. You don't need to be destination specialists. You've got us. You can lean on us for our expertise to make your clients' trips unforgettable and trip of a lifetime.
Charlotte: Fantastic. Thank you for sharing all of that great information Charlie. And thank you for watching our In The Spotlight video with Inside Travel.
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