New trade and investment head talks up potential of direct flights to Japan

Direct flights between Adelaide and Tokyo would be a game-changer for economic ties between South Australia and the Land of the Rising Sun, according the state’s new chief trade representative in Japan.

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Direct flights between Adelaide and Tokyo would be a game-changer for economic ties between South Australia and the Land of the Rising Sun, according the state’s new chief trade representative in Japan.

Sally Townsend last month commenced her role heading up the state’s newly formed trade and investment office in Tokyo, covering Japan and South Korea.

On a recent visit to Adelaide, she said direct flights between Adelaide and Tokyo would improve trade, investment and tourism between the two regions.

“For trade and international business the direct flights, coupled with the proximity of the (Adelaide) airport to the city, adds to the efficiency of doing business with SA for Japanese companies,” she said.

“The proximity of precincts like SAHMRI, Lot Fourteen and Tonsley to each other, the city and the airport, adds to this efficiency and ease of doing business here.

“To have this direct flight before Hayabusa2 lands in Woomera next year would be ideal. There will be a huge focus on SA at that time and probably a lot more people coming out to witness it if there was a direct flight.”

Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 will complete its studies of the Ryugu asteroid next year, before landing in Woomera with samples from its mission.

Last week Qantas announced it would add a third destination in Japan when it begins seasonal non-stop flights between Sydney and Sapporo.

The airline flies direct to Tokyo from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and also offers non-stop services between Sydney and Osaka.

As well as improving trade links, direct flights would generate higher levels of tourism from Japan, according to Ms Townsend, who has spent the past 18 years living in the country’s capital.

“One of the terrific things about Adelaide is the location of the airport,” she said.

“To be able to land in Adelaide, go through customs quickly and get to your hotel in under an hour would make Adelaide a much more appealing holiday destination.

“The proximity of Cairns for example is appealing to Japanese tourists, who more often than not, only have a week maximum to use for vacation time, so to have almost half a day shaved off without having to take connecting flights would be a huge bonus.”

Sally Townsend is the new Commissioner, South Australia – Japan and Korea

Born and raised in Adelaide, Ms Townsend travelled to Japan in 2000 to teach English for a year, but after “falling in love” with the country ended up relocating to Tokyo to study and progress her career in business development.

She has spent most of the time working in the wine industry, helping Japanese importers source premium wine from Australia and other regions, and she currently chairs the Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

“Every time ministers or others came over from South Australia I would say you have to build an office, I’ll run it, I’m your South Australian on the ground here, and then finally they did,” she said.

“I would joke that I was the volunteer ambassador on the ground because I had great pride in South Australia - there was a need for a presence.”

The splendour of Japan.

Selling more premium wine to Japanese consumers is just one opportunity she hopes to unlock for local exporters hoping to tap into the world’s third biggest economy.

“Food and wine and agri is an obvious one, education and biomed life sciences definitely,” she said.

“The success of CMAX (owned by Japan’s I’rom Group) for example, with the speed at which clinical trials can be approved compared to the US and EU, and the fact we’re directly south of Tokyo so there is minimal time difference, has proved our capabilities on the world stage.”

“And with renewable energy, we just have to show that South Australia is a very viable partner for R&D or investment. I think in the Japanese mindset, it’s (renewable energy) still seen as super expensive because it is over there. And they don’t have the sun and the wind over in Japan like we do here in South Australia.”

Japan is the state’s third biggest trading partner, with $824 million of goods being exported there from South Australia last financial year, while South Korea is the state’s 10th biggest trading partner, spending $279 million on South Australian goods in the same period.

Ms Townsend encouraged South Australian exporters to invest time into finding the right Japanese businesses to partner with, stressing the importance of linking with those who share the same “philosophies and values”.

“It takes time but once you have that relationship built, you’ve got loyalty there with Japanese partners,” she said.

“We have a lot of similarities with Japan. Japanese culture is obviously the respect they have for family run businesses for example - it really resonates with South Australia.”

The Tokyo trade and investment office, embedded in Austrade in the Australian Embassy, is the second to be opened by the State Government following the establishment of the Shanghai office in November last year.

While Ms Townsend is currently the state’s only representative in the office, there are plans to add more staff in future years.

Other offices are planned for the Middle East (Dubai), the US and South East Asia (Kuala Lumpur).