Rugby fans in Singapore and South East Asia who are eager to catch the 2019 Rugby World Cup live in action, now have something to cheer about.

This is because the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) and Japan Tourist Bureau (JTB) Pte Ltd have just launched a 12-month strategic partnership to promote rugby tourism to Japan and Singapore.

The press conference took place at the National Stadium and the formation of this exceptional union is a bonanza for rugby fans in Asia keen to attend global rugby events.

Said Terence Khoo, President of SRU, “We are extremely pleased to have JTB on board as Singapore Rugby’s partner, and heartily welcome JTB to the Singapore Rugby family.”

Added Khoo, “This partnership is strategic and timely as rugby tourism is growing and Singapore looks to take the lead in fostering this growth as a hub for sports tourism in the Asia-Pacific region.”

 And he also urged the rugby community in the region to take advantage of the opportunity, with the Rugby World Cup taking place in Japan next year, followed by the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in 2020 and then the World Masters Games in Osaka in 2021.

Said Khoo, “This will be a fantastic opportunity for the Singapore rugby community to witness and be inspired by world class rugby action. Such opportunities only comes once in a lifetime, so I encourage all of the rugby community to capitalise on this.”

He continued, “And this partnership will also attract Japanese fans in larger numbers to attend our HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens and other events in the region. Reciprocally, the Union is fully behind the initiative for rugby fans from Singapore and South East Asia, to attend the Rugby World Cup 2019. So it will be a win-win situation for both partners.”

12 different travel packages will be available for the rugby fraternity in Singapore for the Rugby World Cup 2019, with a Star Package that will include the two semi-finals, the bronze medal match and the final certainly being the top draw.

And in the wake of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Khoo also hopes that the partnership with JTB can spur on the rugby scene in Singapore, moving forward. 

He said, “I hope that this partnership can galvanise the rugby community here, in order to further our relationship with the JTB, we need to be aware of the needs of our partner and in the process, we hope to forge a special and lasting relationship in years to come.”

At the press conference, Khoo’s views were echoed by Shinya “Billy” Kurosawa, the President and CEO of JTB Pte Ltd, who reiterated that the demand for travel to Japan from the Asia Pacific region has been growing rapidly and that this alliance would help to reach all rugby fans in Singapore.

He noted that in the past year, there were four hundred thousand Singaporeans who visited Japan, meaning that almost one in nine Singaporeans have been to Japan to date – this is an increase of almost 12 per cent on the previous year.

In the same period, almost 800,000 Japanese visitors came to Singapore. So this partnership is possibly set to exponentially increase the number of fans and visitors in both directions.

Added Kurosawa, “JTB is indeed ready to take full advantage of this golden era in sports tourism, as the demand to visit Japan will only increase, with three major sporting events will be held there in the coming years.”

He continued, “Furthermore, and with the Rugby World Cup venues next year being spread out throughout Japan and taking place over intervals of several days, there will definitely be lots of opportunities for rugby fans to experience the local delights of Japan, at the same time.”

Indeed, sports tourism is one of the market segments that is emerging in the dynamic travel and tourism industry, and is fast becoming a significant and lucrative sector with the cross-leveraging of sports and destinations drawing in more and more visitors.

So the first phase of the SRU and JTB alliance will take place at the NATAS Holidays 2018 travel fair at the Singapore Expo from 17 to 19 August, where Singapore Rugby will support the promotion of 2019 Rugby World Cup packages. 

Said Kurosawa, “We hope to be able to reach out to as many rugby fans in Singapore and South East Asia, as possible, through this partnership.”

Customers who are keen to check out the Rugby World Cup 2019 packages, can find out more about, and also confirm their travel plans, at the JTB Pavilion, Booth 4H-05 at the Singapore Expo this coming weekend.