[Book Steem] Why do foreigners flock to Yamashiroya Ryokan?
Recently, I developed a new interest in "regional regeneration." What makes a village attractive or a place draw attention? In the past, people preferred popular tourist destinations. However, nowadays, people seem to be attracted to places that have stories they like. In other words, if a place doesn’t have a story to tell, it would be less attractive as a tourist destination.
I started reading this book after reading an article at @venti.
The book, [Why is the little ryokan in a mountain filled with foreigners every day?] shows how a family-run ryokan in a small rural town market itself to foreigners.
In some way, the theme “regional regeneration” is too grand to illustrate the meticulous actions and warm ideas of Kenji Ninomiya, the author of the book. Looking for little things he could do in his daily life and implementing them constantly is more heartwarming that talking about a grand theme.
Ryokan Yamashioya is located in Yunohira spa resort near Yufuincho district. It is a small ryokan run by a family, generation after generation. The author began participating in ryokan management after he got married to his wife whose family owned the place.
At that time, the number of tourists to Yunohira was declining. So the author turned his eyes to overseas. He thought about what draws foreigners’ attention. Then, he realized that foreigners were attracted to most Japanese place than modernized facilities. Throughout the ryokan, he made sure that foreigners can learn about Japanese culture. After he realized that foreigners make reservations in advance, he implemented an internet reservation system and received reservations from six months in advance.
He translated materials into English, Korean, and Chinese with the help of students at the nearby universities so that foreigners can use their ryokan conveniently. He participated in events in Hong Kong and ran a Facebook page to promote the ryokan. Thanks to his effort, the reservations were filled far in advance, and the ryokan became a hot place drawing foreigners.
Reference to Yamashiroya’s Facebook page:
:https://www.facebook.com/yamashiroya/
I often hear that we need to deliberate on Korea’s tourism industry.
Foreigners who love Korea and actively promote Korea point out that Korea cannot attract foreigners just by emphasizing 'Kimchi.' (Refer to Hankookilbo article. Http://www.hankookilbo.com/v/9481f86bf00a4cebbbe9306625e1ab23)
The point is that we need to create “a symbol” that can be associated with a place and develop “a story.” It is not just to attract foreigners. When I visited rural areas, there were many interesting places. However, unfortunately, those places were not discovered yet. Local governments make a lot of investment in tourism, but they seem to be satisfied with building unattractive local museums with grey cement. To make matters worse, these museums are not managed properly and neglected after some time. I hope we deliberate on contents like what stories to tell and how we want to be remembered.
I am interested in adding stories to space and attracting people. I hope more places throughout Korea will invite me with their interesting stories.
Source text : https://steemit.com/kr-newbie/@easysun/kga6o
Translated by Aimee Bak(https://www.babeltop.net/ko/dashboard/order?translatorUsid=52bb45d8fd4c)
