or Makarim “Mac” Salman, founder and lead guide of Tokyo-based tour company Maction Planet, 2020 was expected to be a bumper year. After experiencing his best year of sales to date in 2019, he was looking forward to business expansion.

The eyes of the world were on Japan as 2019 came to a close. Tokyo was due to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games the following year and widespread predictions within the travel trade were that the country’s cherry blossom season in spring 2020 would attract more international arrivals than ever before. The Japanese government was also hopeful, preparing to welcome a record 40 million visitors, which was to be the culmination of long-term efforts to market Japan as an appealing and easy-to-access destination. 

But rather than this rosy picture, Mac was confronted with the reality that the COVID-19 pandemic would bring international travel to a screeching halt.

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A changing business environment‍

On January 16, 2020, Japan became one of the first countries to report a case of COVID-19, believed to have been contracted via a trip to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. As early as February 3, the Japanese government announced entry restrictions for all foreign citizens who had either a recent history of travel to, or passport issued by, Wuhan’s province of Hubei. 

On April 3, the move was followed by the closure of borders to travelers from more than 70 countries and regions in a bid to halt the spread of the virus in Japan, which was seeing more than 100 new cases per day. The no-entry list continued to grow, reaching some 150 countries and regions by autumn 2020, and the outlook was increasingly bleak for the travel industry.

Recognizing the need to pivot‍

“I decided in April 2020 that I would have to pivot,” Mac says, adding that the time since then has been an opportunity to reflect, research, create and experiment within his business. Thanks to a mix of connections, innovative ideas and happenstance, he has introduced three new aspects to the business: tours for the domestic market, online cooking classes and content creation largely geared at overseas clientele. 

By developing revenue streams from existing demand for travel products and services, he has been able to continue business operations in anticipation of the return of international tourists to Japan.

“We don’t know when international tourists will come back, but it will be vaccine-dependent,” he says. “As soon as people are comfortable that the vaccine provides some protection, even from new variants, and international travel is possible, I’m anticipating the floodgates will open. That’s why I’m not taking any holidays [this year]. I want to be on the ground and giving 100% for my customers once the door to Japan is open.”

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A company with a solid foundation‍

Mac’s confidence in the appeal of Japan to Western markets, even post-pandemic, is rooted in his business experiences in the past few years. After launching Maction Planet in February 2017, demand for Tokyo and Japan-wide experiences among travelers from North America, Europe and Australasia proved the company viable within months. In 2018, the business enjoyed impressive growth, which doubled in 2019, he says. 

From the outset, Maction Planet has sought to provide bespoke experiences that incorporate impeccable service and “high-bandwidth conversations” – what Mac describes as quality, valuable interactions. “Edutainment,” he explains, “is the core of the Maction Planet philosophy.”

The company website outlines a vast number of products, from traditional experiences like tea ceremonies and sword-making to foodie tours featuring ramen, sushi, craft beer and sake. There is something for almost every niche, including art, photography and music, as well as introductions to Tokyo’s backstreets and other off-the-beaten-tracks spots in Japan. 

“The goal is for me to do deep dives into anything that the customer is interested in,” Mac says, adding that pre-pandemic he frequently prepared tailor-made itineraries for guests, many of whom were looking for high-end travel over two- or three-week stays.

Shifting to a domestic market

Mac’s attention to detail has garnered word-of-mouth referrals and glowing reviews on online sites such as Tripadvisor, much to his delight. Satisfied customers, he says, can be the best ambassadors. His motto is to “do the best job you can” for each one and to never underestimate how a person can help your business. 

His approach paid off in 2020, when a positive review from American clients two years earlier led to his first Tokyo tour for domestic customers. Mac had guided the foreign group around Tokyo before they traveled to Aomori Prefecture, where he organized accommodation for them. 

The Americans shared their positive experiences of Maction Planet with the Japanese owner of the accommodation, who decided to travel with Mac in Tokyo when international borders closed. The experience was to their satisfaction and soon, through local word-of-mouth, Mac had customers from northern Honshu booking tours of the capital. In the absence of international visitors, Mac embraced the domestic market.

Although Mac welcomed his new clientele, he was cautious, particularly as the number of guests seemed “very dependent” on Go To Travel, a subsidy campaign launched in July 2020 to invigorate the country’s ailing tourist industry. Run by the Japan Tourism Agency, the $12.5 billion program offered 50% off overnight stays, as well as transport if bought as part of a package. Because Maction Planet was not set up as a Go To Travel partner, customers could not receive such discounts on their tour bookings, but many used the money they saved on accommodation to pay for a tour.   

“Most customers had not been to Tokyo since their school days and saw the campaign as an opportunity to visit,” Mac says. “They joined the tours to practice their English and see Japan from a foreigner’s perspective. The volume of customers was significantly lower and I had to reduce the prices by half [because of what the domestic market would bear], but I thought of it as a rewarding experience.”

Bookings picked up through the autumn and winter but, with the onset of a third wave of COVID-19 infections in December, Go To Travel was suspended indefinitely on December 28. When a state of emergency was declared for Tokyo, its neighboring three prefectures and other high-population centers across Japan, on January 7, it put a freeze on Maction Planet’s domestic pivot.

Exploring Japan through online cooking classes‍

But Mac had another innovative idea in his pocket. In July 2020, he had launched online cooking classes in partnership with a local cook. Every month, 15 to 30 people tune in to learn about a different type of Japanese cuisine for the cost of $33 per screen. To date, participants from five continents have taken part, each eager to try making miso ramen, katsu curry or an Instagram-worthy panda-shaped bento boxed lunch.

“We’ve never done any paid promotion,” he says. “Our following is slow to grow but loyal. We’re not concerned by low numbers. The real benefit of doing these classes is the awareness it brings, to let people know what we do.”

The same philosophy applies to Maction Planet’s third pivot: to create written and video content that appeals to people overseas who are either awaiting or contemplating a trip to Japan. Mac has posted material as blog posts, guest posts on other websites and on social media including YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn. This pivot was driven by the commitment his customers have made to him – he says that the majority have opted to postpone, rather than cancel, their planned 2020 trip to Japan.

“When the trips couldn’t go ahead, I knew that during 2020 and into 2021, I needed my customers to feel confident that I’m still committed to doing what I do. I didn’t want there to be any doubt that I wasn’t going to be here waiting for the borders to open,” he says, adding that he is using his time as purposefully as possible.

Time for research and skills development‍

Pre-pandemic, Mac guided tourists for an average of three hundred days a year, for 10 hours a day. In the past year, with so much time on his hands, he has been able to ramp up both the volume and quality of online content he produces. As part of an ongoing effort to improve his video editing skills, he announced in December 2020 a commitment to upload one video per week for 12 weeks and, in February 2021, he launched Kanpai Planet, a social media platform designed to bring people “the world of Japanese drinks, from the heart of Tokyo, one sip at a time.”

“My goal is to put good [content] out there and build a community that values it,” he says. “I’m passionate about this country and I’m lucky to be able to share that with other people.” 

Whether guiding overseas tourists in person or via online interactions, Mac is content. He says the work is his ikigai, a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being.” “Ikigai is what you can be paid for, what people want, what you are good at and what you’re passionate about,” he says.

With its main business activities paused for more than a year, Maction Planet has experienced challenges. Yet Mac has so far successfully navigated the fledgling company through the storm thanks to three innovative pivots. He spent much of 2020 looking to the future, researching new tourism products in Tokyo and going on fact-finding missions to various places in Japan, experimenting with ideas and concepts for new tours he hopes to add to his offerings. 

As the world eagerly awaits the opening up of international borders, Mac is confident of two things: that Japan will be a priority destination for many travelers and that he is ready to spring back into action as a bespoke tour guide.