Expanding new services to accommodate diverse cultures and taking on a video production project

Q.Why did your company decide to take on interns? What did you aim to achieve?

Our company operates a hot-springs ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Zao Onsen, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Zao Onsen, with a history of more than 1,900 years, is a popular tourist destination that attracts fans of hot springs and many foreign visitors who seek the unique activities available in the snowy region. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant portion of our customers came from English-speaking regions, especially Australia. However, since the onset of the pandemic, there has been a surge in customers primarily from Taiwan, as well as from China, Malaysia, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries.
In accommodating customers from the new cultural sphere of Southeast Asia, we realized that we did not have a sufficient grasp of their cultures, dietary preferences, and languages, and this highlighted challenges in expanding our services. Particularly, we were exploring how best to please our customers by accommodating religious restrictions and desired services, such as halal food.

Additionally, a few years ago, there was a book that became a topic of discussion among ryokan owners, which included a notable case study. It described how a lodging facility had created easy-to-understand videos for inbound tourists and found them to be highly effective. Upon considering a similar endeavor, we found ourselves without experienced video editors or younger staff members who were familiar with social media, and ultimately, we were unable to undertake the project. We decided to participate in this internship program with the intent to implement more-effective measures for inbound tourism by gaining a deeper understanding of the necessary information and concerns that travelers have when visiting Zao Onsen and to provide services based on those understandings.

Embracing the spirit of hospitality: Meeting the expectations of visitors to Japan with multilingual support and video content

Q.What kind of internship did you run? What difficulties did you face and how did you resolve them?

This time, we had the pleasure of hosting Ms. Lim, an intern from Malaysia, who brought her diverse cultural background as well as her strength as a member of the social media-savvy younger generation. She leveraged these attributes to conduct outreach activities aimed at attracting tourists visiting Japan.

Specifically, as Ms. Lim was able to speak Japanese and English, in addition to Chinese, she engaged in daily casual conversations with customers and assisted with handling inquiry emails from overseas customers to grasp the needs of our Southeast Asian guests. Taking these factors into consideration, we engaged her in long-desired projects such as creating videos for tourists visiting Japan and launching social media accounts. During her time with us, she was able to produce a total of five videos.

The themes for each video were determined based on content from frequently received inquiries. The content explains the routes from the nearest bus center to the inn, as well as the path to the ski resort. Additionally, as the surrounding scenery quickly transforms into a snowscape with the falling snow, we paid careful attention to timing to ensure that filming could take place on a snowy day. The intern was also responsible for inserting English subtitles, adding narration, and handling the social media posting process. Before, we only provided text-based responses to inquiry emails, but this has enabled us to offer efficient and clear answers, which has also contributed to the improvement of our services.

Positive impact brought by the intern’s cheerfulness and proactivity, with anticipation for further inbound enhancement through video production

Q.Comparing before and after the internship, what effects did it have on you, your employees, or your organization?

The tasks that Ms. Lim undertook, such as managing our social media and creating videos, may seem minor at first glance. However, as we had been unable to take this initial step on our own for a long time, we feel that she made significant contribution. Particularly, we were very pleased to understand the needs of inbound tourists from Southeast Asia through interactions with our customers and to be able to create offerings that cater to those needs. We are now preparing to incorporate this information into our company website in the future. Additionally, while observing the feedback on our videos, we are planning to increase our posts, which include features on Zao Onsen's tourist attractions, cultural highlights, and guides to cycling routes.

One factor contributing to the emergence of so many ideas was that, during the internship period, daily lunches and dinners were provided as "staff meals" by the inn, which we all shared together. This practice greatly enriched our daily communication. The fact that Ms. Lim was very cheerful and proactive also contributed to a reassuring change for me as a business owner. Initially, our staff found it challenging to understand the first-time introduction of foreigners, but their perceptions have now shifted to a positive stance toward them.

Additionally, through participation in this program, which includes a variety of industries and joint training sessions with other companies, we were able to learn approaches to various activities. This knowledge is valuable and a significant gain for us.