Airport News Japan

New Name for Tokushima “Awa Odori” Airport to go with Opening of New Terminal next Spring

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An architect's conception of the finished Tokushima Airport's new passenger terminal.

In late November, Tokushima Airport, in Itano, Tokushima Prefecture, chose “Tokushima Awa Odori Airport” as its nickname. Awa Odori is a unique synchronized dancing that is performed in the area around Tokushima City.

With the extension of the airport runway to 2,500 meters and the construction of the new passenger terminal in spring of 2009, the Tokushima Airport Visitor Promotion Committee asked for nickname ideas from the public during the summer.

The committee’s nickname selection sub-committee made its decision from among the 524 submissions upon taking into consideration the results of questionnaires completed by Tokushima Prefecture residents and travel agencies, as well as travel bureaus from various prefectures. Since the most common answer in response to the question “What do you think of when you hear ‘Tokushima Prefecture” was “Awa Odori,” the committee members were of the opinion that “Tokushima Awa Odori Airport will be good because people outside the prefecture will recognize it.”

According to the committee, the nickname will be widely used on signboards in and outside the new terminal building when it opens, as well as in promotional materials, with the purpose of “making the airport more familiar to people, drawing far more visitors and increasing its name recognition around the country.”

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