Chairman of the Hokkaido Tourism Promotion Organization plans to introduce "Hokkaido Discount" to soaring accommodation prices-Experts expect Hokkaido model, lodging companies explain the difficulty of introduction
Mr. Koganezawa, chairman of the Hokkaido Tourism Promotion Organization, announced in a dialogue project hosted by the Hokkaido branch of the Yomiuri Shimbun that he would call on member companies and other tourism-related companies in Hokkaido to introduce discounted accommodation fees for Hokkaido residents from this autumn. This was reported by the Yomiuri Shimbun on July 14, 2024.
This policy aims to set a double price that is easy for Hokkaido residents to use in response to the soaring cost of accommodation due to the increase in demand from foreign tourists visiting Japan. His interlocutor, Mr. Masayuki Onishi, former president of the All Japan Ryokan Association, pointed out the declining trend of Hokkaido tourists and touched on the need for discounted prices for Hokkaido residents. In response, Chairman Koganezawa expressed his willingness to collaborate with surrounding industries such as accommodation, restaurants, and transportation.
Chairman Koganezawa believes that the increase in the number of Hokkaido residents due to the discount effect will lead to an increase in income and expenses, and he also indicated that he intends to trial the system this fall and implement it next spring. In addition, it seems that the expansion of the discount target to all Japan travelers visiting Hokkaido "Japan person price" will be considered.
On July 16, the editorial department of Yotabi News Correspondence contacted the Hokkaido Tourism Promotion Organization and the Hokkaido Government Tourism Division, and they explained that "we have confirmed the information in the newspaper, but we do not know anything more," and it turned out that Chairman Koganezawa's remarks were only published in an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun. When I asked the Yomiuri Shimbun Hokkaido branch, they explained that "the publication of the dialogue (the entire content) has not yet been decided."
When we asked the operators of many resort hotels in Hokkaido what they thought of the chairman's policy, he said, "Especially for individual travel reservations, there is no distinction between Japan and foreign travelers, there are various routes such as the Internet and travel agencies, and the accommodation fee is different. In an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun, a think tank researcher who is familiar with tourism said, "It has the potential to spread nationwide as a model for Hokkaido."
