Destination Specialist - Inbound Tourism Sales and Customer Service

Oku Japan is a Kyoto-based tour operator and destination management company (DMC) focused on adventure travel. We do more than create tours – we create memories of a lifetime by creating people-to-people connections. Our international team is bound together by a deep passion for and a strong knowledge of traditional Japanese culture. We create small-group guided, self-guided, walking, cultural, and special interest tours of Japan. Our tours place an emphasis on travel off the beaten track, and combining must see places with hidden gems. Our tours and our team reflect our support for sustainable and community-based tourism. Job responsibilities for the positions available include but are not limited to the following: Learning our trip destinations and individual itineraries in detail and becoming the point person for a particular destination or tour type. Taking calls as well as making outgoing calls to customers. Replying to emails from prospective travellers and travel advisors, often in rapid succession, throughout the day. Building rapport and understanding the needs of your travellers and travel advisors. Following up on leads to help determine the best trip fit for our travellers. Preparing quotes and customising them to ensure they meet the needs of your customers. Booking and entering reservations and handling special requests and additional services. Supporting your customers with all pre-trip and post-trip questions. Connecting with your customers pre-trip and post-trip to ensure all goes to plan and listening to their feedback to ensure we continually improve our trips. Building relationships with our customers that ensure they return again and again and tell their friends about their great experiences with us. Ensuring that every detail of your traveller’s trip is perfectly organized and documented, including the administrative tasks this involves. Do your utmost to ensure you are providing our travellers with a positive experience, from start to finish, from their first enquiry to their post-trip survey. Developing and writing custom itineraries and proposals. Communicating closely with our marketing and operations teams and other stakeholders to efficiently drive your book of business while ensuring the delivery of high-end service. Contributing to marketing initiatives, including writing blog posts and contributing to documentation. Working and fully available 9-6 Monday – Friday. Additional hours may be necessary to achieve your goals and complete your work during busy season. Overtime is not baked into your monthly wage. We keep overtime minimal, and pay overtime hourly on top of your monthly wage. Weekend work may be required and will be rostered in advance for applicants interested. Occasionally, domestic travel may be required. ***Please note we are not always able to reply to unsuccessful candidates on initial application*** Requested skills Japan travel experience, preferably to diverse nature destinations You have a passion for active and adventure travel with experience and knowledge of the destinations and activities we offer. Experience in sales or customer-facing roles where you have demonstrated your ability to understand customer needs, propose solutions, overcome objections and close sales. Outstanding customer service and problem-solving skills. An excellent eye for detail and administrative skills. Able to multitask, prioritise and establish deadlines to ensure competing objectives are met. Interpersonal and team skills which enable you to build great relationships internally and externally. Highly confident, competent and articulate individual who can communicate professionally across all levels. Able to work under pressure, motivated to achieve company goals and demonstrate a positive attitude. Candidates looking to grow and develop a career with us over the long term. Learning orientated. Resilient and flexible. People who care. Good listeners. A hands-on individual willing to go the extra mile for customers, colleagues and the business. Proficient with Microsoft Office, and online tools such as Gmail, Googledocs, and Dropbox. Experience in the travel industry, DMC, and B2B sales is highly regarded. Do you have additional skills you can bring to the table? Tell us about them! Must be Native or be highly proficient in English. Must have permission or an appropriate visa to work in Japan. All applications must include a cover letter. Tell us about yourself!