On September 19th, the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) introduced the highlights of the world's largest travel event, "Tourism EXPO Japan 2024" (Tokyo Big Sight, Koto-ku, Tokyo) at a regular press conference. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the event, and it will be held in Tokyo for the first time in two years. The event will be held for a total of four days from September 26th to 29th, with the theme of "Travel is an encounter with new values." At the venue, there will be booths proposing new forms of travel such as "starry sky tourism," "drive tourism," and "adventure tourism," as well as a food court where you can enjoy "food travel" from around the world. Tourism EXPO Japan is co-hosted by three organizations: JATA, the Japan Travel and Tourism Association, and the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). Exhibitors from about 80 countries and regions from all over Japan and overseas, as well as more than 1,000 organizations and companies, will be exhibiting. The first half of the event, September 26th and 27th, are industry days, and the second half, September 28th and 29th, are general public days. Admission fees (general day) are 1,000 yen in advance and 1,300 yen on the day. The theme, "Travel is an encounter with new values," is intended to convey the hope that people will encounter and experience various new values and feel like they want to go to the same place again. This time, actor Tomoko Yamaguchi has been appointed as a special supporter. At the regular press conference, Director of Tourism EXPO Japan Promotion Office Manabu Hayasaka stated that the expected number of visitors is 180,000 (58,000 on trade days and 122,000 on general days) (the number of visitors in 2023 was 148,062). In addition, the number of exhibitors is over 1,500 booths, and he appealed that "after the COVID-19 pandemic, we have recovered to 85% of the record high of 2018. Overseas accounts for just over 40%, and is on track to exceed domestic (about 40%)." The number of business negotiations exceeded 5,900 as of the same day, and more than 6,000 business negotiations are expected. Ikai Takashi, deputy director and public relations officer of the promotion office, promoted gourmet food from around the world. In addition to fried Nakatsu chicken and rafti rice bowls, he introduced banh mi, which is popular among young people, and African Home Touch, which features rare ingredients such as crocodile legs. Notable booths include Osaka, which is about to open the Osaka-Kansai Expo; Hokkaido, which has attempted to design a booth that produces almost no waste; the United States, which will announce the latest tourism information on sports such as MLB during the Japan-U.S. Tourism Exchange Year; Korea, which boasts the largest area of the world; and Saudi Arabia, where you can taste Saudi coffee and dates. The industry day will feature the Japan Tourism Awards ceremony, a press conference for the Osaka-Kansai Expo, a keynote panel discussion on the theme of expanding the tourist exchange population, a TEJ Tourism Ministers' Meeting, a thematic symposium, a tourism professional seminar, and a lunch reception by India and Saudi Arabia.