Local government initiatives to utilize low awareness for PR

Local governments and other organizations are taking advantage of the low awareness of the area to promote tourism. ``I haven't found out yet.'' ``Kusatsu is a place without hot springs.'' The person in charge is enthusiastic about using the self-deprecating humor as a weapon, saying, ``We want to use this as an opportunity for people to learn about the charm of the region,'' and are looking forward to the long autumn holidays that started on the 19th.

``Akita prefecture has not been discovered yet.'' According to the Prefectural Tourism Strategy Division, while the prefecture is rich in tourism resources, such as the Shirakami Mountains, a World Natural Heritage site, and the Akita Kanto Festival held in August, the problem is that the area is poorly recognized nationwide. Therefore, from May to July, the prefecture launched a campaign to distribute accommodation coupons with a catchphrase that took advantage of the situation.

According to the Japan Tourism Agency's overnight travel statistics survey (second preliminary report), the total number of overnight guests in the prefecture in June was 339,100, an increase of 34.4% from the same month last year, making it the highest growth rate in the country. The person in charge feels that the campaign is having a positive effect.

Kusatsu City in Shiga Prefecture, which is often confused with Kusatsu Town in Gunma Prefecture, one of Japan's leading hot spring areas, aims to improve its name recognition by promoting itself as ``Kusatsu for those without hot springs.'' Last year, the city's Tourism and Products Association announced the mascot character ``Onsen Dorobou.'' The story of stealing hot springs from all over the country in order to turn Lake Biwa into a hot spring became a hot topic, and in August he even participated in the Kusatsu Onsen Thanksgiving Festival.

Kana Sakamoto (29) of the City Tourism and Products Association said, ``It may seem like self-deprecation, but I hope it will be an opportunity for people to learn about the charms of Kusatsu City.''

Gyudon chain Matsuya opened this spring in Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture, making Tottori the only prefecture in the country without one. The prefecture's character, Trippy, posted a message to X saying, ``I don't care at all!'' However, the accompanying photo, which featured a fan with the words ``Come here'' written on it, attracted attention and received over 800,000 views.

In April, we launched the ``#When Matsuya Comes to Tottori'' campaign, soliciting collaboration menus using local ingredients in prefecture X. Saki Nakagaki (35) of the prefecture's public relations department, who planned the event, said, ``Instead of viewing the fact that we are the last prefecture to hold the event as a negative, we want to turn it into a positive and communicate its charm.''