As the Boston Red Sox and its fans look forward to see how the offseason additions of two Japanese players will affect the team’s standings this coming season, city officials are already banking on a win for the local tourism economy.
If previous imports to Major League Baseball teams serve as any indication, new Japanese pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima will prompt a noticeable rise in Japanese tourism and a large influx of Japanese media in the city, and Boston officials are stepping up to the plate to accommodate the anticipated boost.
“Already, many organized tours have been put on sale in Japan,” said Takashima Masayuki, a spokesman for the Japanese Consulate in Boston. “We expect [many] more to be coming here to Boston.”
Masayuki predicted Japanese obsession with starter Matsuzaka — commonly known as “Dice-K” and who gained international fame last year after being named the World Baseball Classic’s Most Valuable Player — would bring some tourists to the United States simply to see him in person.
Tourists have crowded the Red Sox spring training compound in Ft. Myers, Fla. to get their first looks at Matsuzaka, who signed a six-year, $52 million contract in December after a highly publicized bidding war among MLB teams for his services.
“When [Matsuzaka] comes up North, they will follow,” he said.
Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau spokeswoman Joanna Blasi said her organization is excited for the boost to the city’s economy the anticipated tourism influx will bring.
“There are definitely opportunities for many local businesses,” she said. After games, tourists will go out to dinner and shop, boosting the city’s revenue, she said.
Past Japanese players, who brought their skills and national recognition across the Pacific Ocean, include pitcher Hideo Nomo, whose “tornado” windup brought international attention to the Los Angeles Dodgers when he made his debut in 1995. Others include Ichiro Suzuki, who made his MLB debut for the Seattle Mariners in 2001, and outfielder Hideki Matsui, who debuted with the New York Yankees in 2003.
Capitalizing on the overseas television audiences that pay close attention to their favorite Japanese stars, major league teams often have advertisements printed in Japanese around their ballparks.
But not all of the city’s newest visitors will come with working knowledge of the city, and city officials are especially concerned about members of the Japanese press who will work in the city covering the team, Blasi said.
“We are getting more and more requests from Japanese media [who want] to come over,” she said.
The bureau, she said, has scheduled meetings with more than 100 members of the Japanese press in Ft. Myers, where they are already covering the Red Sox spring training workouts, to prepare them for navigating Boston.
Blasi said the bureau also holds some concerns that Japanese tourists who come to watch Matsuzaka and the Red Sox will not take advantage of the city’s attractions beyond Yawkey Way, and it has been aggressively promoting Boston’s other highlights.
“We just made a Japanese promotional DVD about Boston that had a lot to do with history,” she said, adding the video promotes and explains the city’s restaurants, shopping districts and prestigious universities.
Lori Timoni, spokeswoman for tourism agency Go Boston, said although the agency has in the past tried to make the city more appealing to Japanese tourists, Matsuzaka’s presence alone will boost the country’s interest in the region.
“We are already in the international market,” she said, “but this will definitely add to that.”
The agency recently added a Fenway Park tour to its list of Boston travel packages, and she said she expects this addition will attract many more Japanese to Boston.
“It will be a big success [attracting] people coming from Japan to see their heroes,” Timoni said.
