【Noto Peninsula Earthquake】The entire travel industry should work together to present a tourism vision that balances the reconstruction of Noto and the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Tsuruga.

Hokuriku Tourism is facing two challenges: recovery from the Noto Peninsula earthquake in Reiwa 6 and the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Tsuruga scheduled for March. In this situation, the travel industry needs to present a new tourism vision with foresight.

The Noto Peninsula is an important area for Hokuriku tourism, which is visited by about 7.7 million tourists a year, but it was hit hard by the earthquake. On the other hand, the celebratory mood for the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Tsuruga was rising. However, due to the Tsuruga extension, the area beyond Kanazawa Station, which is connected to the Noto Peninsula, became a new destination, and there were concerns that the number of tourists to the Noto Peninsula would decrease. The earthquake has forced the travel industry to take new measures.

While the travel industry is looking at the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Tsuruga, it should fulfill its social responsibility for the reconstruction of Noto. In particular, major travel agencies have benefited from the opening of Kanazawa Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen in 2015 on the Noto Peninsula. In addition, during the Corona disaster, the project was able to continue with the support of public works. Currently, with the revival of the travel industry and the continued increase in sales and profits, a great deal of assistance to Noto is expected.

It is necessary to balance the reconstruction of Noto with the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Tsuruga. In order to gradually restore travel in some areas of Noto, it is necessary to provide assistance for repairs to accommodation facilities and tourist facilities, and to accept volunteers from the affected areas. It is also necessary to formulate plans and campaigns to connect the new Hokuriku Shinkansen station with Noto. Travel agents can also take on the role of coordinating wide-area cooperation by utilizing their networks between the disaster and the government along the Shinkansen line. Travel agencies with excellent minds and networks can think of a variety of measures.

The necessary funds will be allocated to support Noto for the amount of public works commissioned during the Corona disaster, an increase in revenue from the travel industry, and special demand for the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Tsuruga. However, this time, it is not allowed to aim for the country's reconstruction budget. If fraud is committed in this situation, it will affect the scope of support. In particular, during the coronavirus pandemic, contractors who committed fraud are required to have a spirit of service, which will lead to the prevention of recurrence of fraud. In addition, the content of the support is the content of the business itself, and it can be set as an SDGs goal to be tackled by each company and can be produced in-house.

It's been a few days since the earthquake struck, but there has yet to be a strong message from some of the most prominent leaders in the travel industry expressing their support for Noto. As the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Tsuruga approaches, there is a need to present a tourism vision that balances recovery from the Noto Peninsula earthquake and the opening of the lineup. This is an issue that will test the state of the travel industry, and the outcome of this will greatly affect the future of the Hokuriku region.