Helping small Japanese hotels welcome foreign tourists
To follow up on last week’s post about Japanese hotels that don’t want foreign guests, here’s an N-H-K news report about an organization that is educating the owners of small Japanese hotels and ryokans about how to welcome foreign tourists:
The man in the video is Shuichiro Ono, the CEO of Jissen! Inbound, an organization that helps market small hotels to foreign tourists and educate the hotel staff on how to best serve international visitors. Ono is helping to teach hotel owners and staff that they need not fear their lack of English ability – speaking Japanese, using gestures, and being friendly is enough to please foreign guests. In fact, some foreign tourists actually prefer the experience of staying at a hotel with staff that only speaks Japanese, since it gives them an opportunity to really feel like they are experiencing Japanese culture and learning some Japanese words and phrases.
One example of the success of Ono’s organization is an ryokan shown in the second half of the clip. The elderly couple that own and operate the ryokan enrolled in Ono’s advice and marketing program, and they have been receiving foreign tourists as guests since last year. Although they speak no English and only use Japanese and gestures to serve their foreign guests, a French/Colombian couple interviewed are enjoying their stay. Ono helps the owners check online reviews of their ryokan, and foreign guests have given it very high marks in all review categories.
Ono and his organization are doing wonderful work to make Japan a friendlier and more accessible place for foreign tourists.
[hat tip to Ponta]
