Italians have turned to Japan’s top entertainment pursuit – karaoke – in a new viral which aims to win back oriental tourists.
The move has been taken after a wave of bad publicity warning Japanese travellers off visiting the country following scare stories of tourists being ripped off.
Earlier this month, the story of how Yasuyuki Yamada his fiancée were presented with a €700 bill at one restaurant in Rome received global media coverage.
According to reports, the bill for lunch at Il Passetto included a €207 for a pasta dish and €115 service charge.
A few weeks earlier another Japanese couple had complained about the same restaurant after being given a bill for €352 for a modest meal that included a shared main course.
Following reports of poor service and inflated prices Japanese tourists are now looking to visit elsewhere. Just one million visitors from the country are expected to visit Italy this year, less than half the 2.17 million recorded in 1997.
In an open letter published last week, Italy's tourism minister, Michela Brambilla apologised for the incidents and urged Japanese tourists to give her country a second chance.
But it seems this may not be enough, prompting this new viral work from TBWA\Italia.
‘Il Grande Sumimasen’, translates as ‘the big sorry’, with sumimasen meaning sorry in Japanese.
The makers explained the video is dedicated to, “all Italians who want to apologise to the Japanese tourists who paid crazy prices during their holiday.
“And everybody working in the Italian tourist industry who want to invite Japanese tourists to come back.”
In it, restaurant owners and waiters, taxi drivers, butchers, locals and a Roman Centurion, all beg their Japanese friends, ‘Please don’t go’.
The campaign is being backed by a Facebook group. At the time of writing it has just 119 members, but as national pride swings into action, this looks set to explode.
See the work by playing it below.
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