Rapid increase in Nagasaki! "Dating site" to connect seniors with tourists October 7, 16:51
In Nagasaki Prefecture, a matching site that mediates “meeting” between people is attracting attention. You can register on this site if you are over 50 years old. The number of registrants has risen to nearly 100 in three months since the start of the business, and it is gradually spreading not only to urban areas such as Nagasaki City and Sasebo City, but also to Tsushima City in remote islands. We interviewed the thoughts put into this business that operates a matching site and the site of “meeting”. (Nagasaki Broadcasting Station reporter Takahiro Hirai)
“Meeting” with foreign tourists
"A lot of sugar is used for cooking in Nagasaki"
Speaking elegantly, a 65-year-old woman who was born and raised in Nagasaki and has lived abroad. In general, I will explain the local food culture while making “Ogoshi”, a home-cooked meal in Nagasaki called “Shiraae”.
Nagasaki is the only country in Japan that has opened its doors to the world and developed as an international trading city even during the isolation period. It is said that a lot of sugar has been used for cooking because it was easy to get valuable sugar that was just unloaded to Dejima.
"I can't do this kind of experience"
Three foreigners from Vietnam and China visited a woman's home and cooked food together. The originally 2 hour stay was 4 hours as a result of conversation.
I was able to get to know this woman because there was a “matching site”. It has been said that the exchanges with each other through SNS continue even after more than a month since the visit.
"Plus" for "Travel"
The meeting site "TRIPLUS" mediated this encounter. With the concept of “plus PLUS for TRIP”, senior citizens in their 50s who know the local area well, and curious that they want to experience local culture, traditions and lifestyles while traveling Connect foreign tourists.
The senior generation who wants to register first creates an account on this site by entering necessary information such as name and email address. Then, enter information such as the contents of the specific experience program that you can provide and the fee.
All you have to do is wait for a reservation from a foreign tourist. The fee is set by the senior, but 70% of the fee is paid to the senior generation after deducting 30% of fees and insurance premiums.
There are now a variety of registered experience programs, ranging from cooking dishes related to Nagasaki's specialty dish Udon and the traditional autumn festival Nagasaki Kunchi to the izakaya tour only known to locals.
Tourism needs Shift to “experience type”
The site was launched by Tomohiro Akiyama, a 34-year-old young entrepreneur. After graduating from a high school in Yokohama, I went to universities in Japan and overseas and got a job at NEC, a major electronics manufacturer.
Mr. Akiyama who was involved in the development of new business at NEC. Through my business, I had a strong desire to solve a problem that Japan faces. The challenge was the “aging of Japan” that is rapidly progressing globally.
Mr. Akiyama interviewed about 1000 senior citizens about the service they were looking for over the course of three years.
Mr. Akiyama, who had a negative reaction to health concerns and worries about life after retirement. These expectations were greatly betrayed. In fact, many people said that they retired but want to continue to play an active role in society.
Mr. Akiyama thought that there was no way to make use of this vitality. That's why I noticed the increasing number of foreign tourists. Mr. Akiyama, who thought that he could make use of Japanese “hospitality”, interviewed about 1000 foreign tourists at Haneda Airport, etc., what kind of needs he actually had.
As a result, nearly 80% of foreign tourists say that they want to experience the culture and traditions of various parts of Japan, not packaged tourism, and that tourism needs have shifted to “experienced”. It is said that I felt it for a long time.
Local business is a problem-solving business
A business that connects senior generations with foreign tourists. Akiyama proposed such a business in-house, but eventually decided to become independent because he was asked to make a big profit. I decided to launch a matching site.
At first, I started the business in Akiyama-san's hometown of Yokohama. This was because of the benefits of the area, and many seniors and foreign tourists were expected.
The next port of business development was Nagasaki, the same port town.
“(Mr. Akiyama) I wanted to create a successful model locally. Because our service is a match, there are a lot of potential hosts and guests, and foreigners researched many areas in their daily lives. Nagasaki came out first.
The number of foreign tourists who visited Nagasaki Prefecture in the past year was the highest ever, 720,000. There are approximately 690,000 seniors in their 50s or more, or 51% of the population. Nagasaki was a well-balanced place, and it was an attractive place for Mr. Akiyama's business.
Above all, Mr. Akiyama thought that this business was worth developing only in regions where the issues of declining birthrate, aging population, and population decline were serious.
New challenges ...
Nagasaki got in full. Mr. Akiyama's enthusiasm gradually spread, and in August, about 50 people attended a briefing session for the local senior generation.
However, it did not necessarily proceed to smooth sailing. The new challenge was the securing of human resources. In Nagasaki, nearly half of the students who graduated from high schools in the prefecture, and about 60% of the students who graduated from university, find employment outside the prefecture.
Based on Nagasaki, only two people from Akiyama and an internship attending a graduate school at Nagasaki University can work. In order to operate the business stably in the future, it was necessary to secure more human resources and to acquire the funds to fund them.
Gradually spread
Therefore, Akiyama will go to a seminar for entrepreneurs who are also attended by local financial institutions. At the seminar, I learned that the government also has high expectations for problem-solving businesses such as population decline.
I also listened to the story of the person in charge of a financial institution that supports venture companies.
At the end of the seminar, Mr. Akiyama quickly approached the person in charge at the financial institution and talked about his thoughts on the business.
“(Responsible for financial institutions) There should be many people who want to invest and support, so we want to work together.”
The person in charge was able to get a positive response.
These ideas were evaluated by Nagasaki City and certified as projects that contribute to regional revitalization.
The business has gradually expanded and was invited to Tsushima City, which suffers from a decline in Korean tourists due to the deterioration of Japan-Korea relations.In Kyushu, local governments outside Nagasaki Prefecture, such as Kitakyushu City and Ureshino City in Saga Prefecture, said, Is starting to take the voice.
In Kanto, an experiential program has been launched in which you can go sightseeing along a railway line in cooperation with a railway company or enjoy shopping in cooperation with a major department store.
“Meeting” to “I want to live” Toward a sustainable society
If these efforts become widespread, “encounters” will not only help seniors to “work” and “live”, but will also contribute to income improvement.
And if the energetic senior generation moves from the “supported side” to the “supported side” of society, the sustainability of society as a whole will increase.
Mr. Akiyama says, “I want you to help my seniors, not just young people, to manage my business.”
Can a venture company that develops a business in a local area be able to overcome various challenges supported by vital seniors? I would like to keep an eye on it in the future.
Nagasaki Broadcasting Station Reporter Takahiro Hirai Joined the prefecture in 2016, and is in charge of the prefectural government.