Are Japanese tourist guides outdated? Issues emerge

Many tourist destinations provide paper tourist maps to communicate their attractions, but one issue is that there is a limit to what can be included on paper.

For example, even if a paper tourist map contains a map of the entire tourist destination, it is difficult to include information about the tourist destination and public transportation together, and they may not include detailed information about each tourist spot or recommended menus for popular restaurants. In addition, they often do not include bus timetables for the surrounding area.

As a result, tourists have to take the time to look at paper maps and bus timetables on their smartphones or tablets, making it difficult for them to figure out the best route to enjoy sightseeing efficiently within the limited time available.

What are the effects of delays in responding to inbound tourism?

Another issue is that many tourist destinations do not offer multilingual support. There are cases where the signs are written only in Japanese, or there are so many that there is no time to rewrite them. There are also cases where language barriers make it difficult to communicate with foreign tourists. In addition, people may not know how to use public transportation, or be unable to find restaurants that offer menus that take into consideration vegetarians or religious or sectarian rules.

Furthermore, it is possible that evacuation guidance may not be able to be carried out smoothly if a foreign tourist suddenly falls ill or a disaster occurs.

The Importance of Promoting Digital Transformation as Demonstrated by the Japan Tourism Agency

The Japan Tourism Agency believes that it is necessary to improve the environment for welcoming foreign tourists to Japan by raising the travel environment to the world's highest standard, thereby further improving satisfaction with travel experiences, including in regional areas. This will turn tourists into a powerful fan base for Japan, and through word-of-mouth, will help to expand interest in visiting Japan.

On the other hand, overtourism (tourist pollution) has become a problem in some regions. The influx of foreign tourists to Japan at tourist destinations leads to congestion, traffic jams, littering, and other problems that make it difficult for local residents to use public transportation. If measures against overtourism are implemented thoroughly and congestion can be eliminated, the satisfaction of both local residents and tourists will increase. Tourism DX has the potential to lead to measures against overtourism, so promoting DX is an urgent task.

When it comes to digitalizing tourist destinations, attention tends to be focused on regional areas, but given the current situation in which foreign tourists are visiting all tourist destinations in the country, including urban areas, it is necessary to promote tourism digitalization in all tourist destinations and build systems to welcome foreigners.

How to achieve coexistence between local residents and inbound tourists

The Japan Tourism Agency has set out a strategy for creating sustainable tourism regions. This strategy promotes the creation of mechanisms to improve the profitability and productivity of the tourism industry and generate a virtuous cycle for local communities and the economy. The Japan Tourism Agency is proactively working on tourism digital transformation, as it sees it as important for improving convenience for travelers, encouraging travel, improving productivity in the tourism industry, enhancing tourism destination management, and nurturing and utilizing tourism digital talent.

In order to promote the development of sustainable tourism regions, we must aim to create areas where local residents and workers, as well as tourists from Japan and overseas, can all coexist. In tourist destinations, improving productivity and convenience, and promoting communication are becoming important issues.

A system to communicate the attractions of tourist destinations in real time

A digital map is a map that represents geographical information in a digital format. Unlike paper maps, digital maps can be viewed and operated on digital devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Digitizing paper tourist maps will reduce paper and printing costs, and will help reduce costs and the environmental impact of going paperless. It will be possible to provide not only static information such as store locations, but also dynamic information such as store occupancy and traffic congestion in real time. For example, it will be possible to know where buses circulating around tourist spots are running, or to inform users of the current flowering status of a flower park.

For travelers who are unfamiliar with the area and visiting a tourist destination for the first time, being able to see their current location and destination simultaneously on the tourist map will improve their sightseeing experience.

Supporting inbound tourism with multilingual support

Paper tourist maps have limitations when it comes to multilingual support. Digital maps, however, can support multiple languages and can flexibly accommodate the countries of origin of foreign tourists visiting Japan. Real-time communication between staff and tourists is also made easier, and images and videos can be used in the digital map to guide recommended tourist spots in foreign languages, so the charm of the city can be fully conveyed.

In addition, detailed tourist information, bus timetables, real-time operation status, and store menu information can all be delivered in one app, improving convenience for travelers. Another benefit is that store opening and closing times, crowding levels, and other information can be updated in real time.

Digital maps that bring out the unique culture and attractions of each region

Digital maps can help you find the best route to your destination, provide pedestrian routes using public transport, and provide reviews and ratings of tourist attractions, helping you choose which attractions to visit.

In one tourist destination in the Kanto region, digital maps are being used to suggest routes according to congestion levels in order to alleviate congestion and prevent overtourism. Another tourist destination is promoting its unique attractions by suggesting routes that include unique content based on the region's food culture, historical exploration, seasons and time of day.

A service that provides a one-stop tourism experience

Another feature of the digital map is that it can provide all the services necessary for tourism in one stop. Restaurant reservations and payments can also be completed through the digital map. It can also be used as a promotional tool, such as distributing unique coupons via the digital map to encourage customers to visit restaurants. It can also be equipped with a function that allows customers to earn coupons by visiting specific spots and collecting digital stamps, making it possible to develop campaigns that attract more customers.

The government has announced a policy to actively attract foreign tourists to Japan, and inbound demand is expected to increase further in the future. Against this background, the expansion of tourism digital transformation is an urgent task.

How to attract more visitors and increase traffic with tourism coupons

Platinum Map can also be used in indoor facilities such as shopping malls, zoos, botanical gardens, and aquariums. By touching a specific facility with their smartphone, users can access detailed map information for the facility, improving convenience.

In addition, by introducing Platinum Map, local governments can hold events that help promote tourism. For example, they can use the digital stamp rally function to hold events where people collect stamps as they visit tourist spots. By issuing digital coupons to users who collect stamps, it is expected that sales promotion and visitor mobility at tourist destinations will increase.

What is Macnica 's autonomous driving EV bus?

Macnica offers the "EVO "autonomous driving electric bus, which supports Level 4 autonomous driving and is also suitable for tourism digital transformation. In addition to running on public roads, it can also connect to public transportation networks, and is effective in solving social issues such as supporting those with mobility issues and easing congestion.

Already, 200 units have been introduced in over 23 countries, providing comfortable transportation while also contributing to attracting customers and improving costs.

Furthermore, by linking autonomous driving EV bus with the operation management system "everfleet," it will be possible to grasp location information, congestion status, etc. in real time. By using EVO and everfleet together, it will be possible to support comfortable passenger transportation in tourist areas.