First Strategy Meeting
Mhm, it really feels like things are taking off now that all of our starting members are here.
But to make it clear, this is a company, not a school club. We’re here to get work done. I’d like to start off by introducing the restoration strategy I have in mind. Is everyone okay with that?
…Uh— E-Excuse me…?
Can I ask what a…“designated tourism region” is…?
……
Starting from square one, I see.
I-I-I-I-I’m so sorry!!!!
(He was born and raised in JPN, but doesn’t know what a designated tourism region is? He must be really sheltered.)
Sakujiro, pull it up.
Of course, Mr. President. Fuefuki-kun, this is “What is Tourism?”, an educational video created for young children.
(That’s…the thing they show all of us in preschool…)
<Hey, kids! I’m Mister Bunny!>
<And I’m Miss Lion! And today…>
<We’re gonna learn about tourism!>
<Hey, Mister Bunny, why do they call JPN a tourism nation?>
<That’s a great question, Miss Lion! JPN actually isn’t the only tourism nation! There are tons of other countries all over the world that are called that too!>
<A long time ago, people made looooots of cool machines using the power of science, so now everyone can go on vacations all of the time! That’s why everyone loves to travel!>
<Everyone in the world is taking vacations?!>
<Yep! JPN wanted the new friends visiting us to have a good time, so we made something called the Ministry of Tourism!>
<The places lots of people really like to go to are called designated tourism regions, and JPN helps those places out in a bunch of ways!>
<Wooow! Do they make taxes cheaper?>
<Yeah! Every tourism region has a special person called the Ward 0 mayor who has a ton of political power!>
<Political power is so cool! Can the Ward 0 mayor do anything? Can they destroy the whole town?>
<Ahaha! That’s a funny joke, Miss Lion! But, yes, maybe they can!>
<The biggest things the Ward 0 mayor does is choose other ward mayors and choose how the region does tourism to welcome new friends!>
<They also choose if the town lives or dies!>
<Wooow, I wanna be Ward 0 mayor and get political power too!>
(…It’s a little darker than I remember it being…)
Th-Th-Th-Th-The Ward 0 mayor has all of the power…!
Ohhh, I get it. Didn’t know all that about the Ward 0 mayor.
(You, out of all people, should know! You literally worked for a travel agency before this…!)
And since I’m the Ward 0 mayor…
Hyah! W-Will you destroy the whole town…?!
Well, they did say that whether the town lives or dies is up to the mayor. And HAMA was on its last breath when my dad was overseeing things…
(Kafka, don’t smile like that, it’s scaring me…)
They didn’t mention it in the video, but there are challenges to being a tourism region.
In exchange for receiving aid from the federal government, we’re placed under supervision of the capital. Our auditor, the Tokyo Ward 8 mayor, was sent from there.
Shigematsu Hakkei, right? He was at the inauguration.
Right. Mayors who also act as auditors like him usually come to the regions they’re supervising pretty often to see what’s going on. If it’s not up to their standards of hospitality, the place gets a bad review instantly. Think of them like your annoying in-laws.
But we’ve stopped accepting financial aid from Tokyo, right? They shouldn’t be able to have a say in our tourism policies anymore.
Exactly. ♪ The plan is to basically perform life-saving surgery on HAMA’s tourism industry for the next year.
If it fails and we don’t reach the visitor quota, HAMA will lose its status as a designated tourism region, and I’ll lose my status as mayor.
So reaching the visitor quota is our biggest goal…
To achieve that, I’ve come up with a plan to bring HAMA back to life. I call it “NEO HAMA-18.”
It says here that our benchmark is…KOBE-9?
Bench…mark?
In other words, a model, an example, or a final goal that one aims to achieve.
Oh! I-I gotta write that down…!!
Can I ask why KOBE-9?
It’s simple. Both KOBE and HAMA are port cities, and have been seen as rivals for a very long time. But right now, KOBE is pulling ahead of us.
Didn’t KOBE overhaul their tourism policies a few years ago? They changed it to supply a more direct style of hospitality to their visitors.
They did. In a world where nearly everything is made easier with automation, what people want when they travel is something fresh that they can’t experience in their everyday lives.
And that has nothing to do with cutting-edge technology.
(He’s right…)
The reason why HAMA is failing is that we implemented so many policies to attract new visitors that we were unable to provide adequate hospitality to the large number of guests we received.
In order to dig ourselves out of this hole, we need to focus on quality over quantity, like KOBE does.
It sounds simple, but I think it’s a very solid plan. But does that mean we won’t be able to focus on pulling in new visitors anymore?
I’m glad you asked that, Nayuki. ♪
When considering only the domestic travelers, the percentage of people who live in JPN and travel frequently doesn’t fluctuate very much.
Every city in the country is fighting for a slice of the pie. That’s why the best way to go about this is to ensure that HAMA’s visitors keep coming back.
In past years, our visitors would just come in once and leave for good. That won’t work. We need to convert all of HAMA into a place worth coming back to and turn people into long-term fans. That’s why…I’d like to find additional ward mayors.
More ward mayors…?
HAMA currently only has 3 mayors, but I plan to have one for each of the 18 wards.
But as the Ward 0 mayor, you act as their leader. Wouldn’t it be overwhelming with so many of them?
You think I can’t handle it?
…You have a point.
For now, we should focus on setting things up with the mayors we already have. Sakujiro, pull it up.
Of course, Mr. President. Click.
…We’re splitting the 18 wards into 4 areas? Morning, Noon, Evening, Night…?
Exactly. I named them after the times of day so people get the feeling that they can enjoy HAMA from sunrise to sunset. ♪
Yachiyo, Sakujiro, Nayuki, and Daniel, I’d like the four of you to split up and help out one team each. To keep things simple, we’ll call you conductors.
H-Huhhhhh?! I-I can’t do something like that!!
(I’m…not really sure if Yachiyo-kun will be okay.)
Don’t worry, I’ll be working with you, Yachiyo. I’ll also have our chief oversee all four of the teams.
O-Okay, got it.
(That’s a lot of pressure, but… I told him I’d do anything to help. I can do this…!)
I understand that you’d like to split HAMA into sections and form four different units, but can I ask why?
I’d like for the mayors in each unit to work together in order to create high-quality tour plans. We can’t afford to work apart, since we don’t have infinite resources to pour into the tourism industry over the course of only one year.
(That makes sense… We don’t have enough time to open new establishments, and we can’t just poof in new sightseeing spots in town.)
But there’s one thing we do have. What do you think that is?
Uh… Uhhh…
One thing we do have…?
Is it your money, Mr. President? Gahah, just kiddin’!
…Ah, I see. I know what you mean.
We have human resources.
(Ah…!)
Like I said before, people don’t travel looking for advanced technology.
It’s something that you can’t quantify, something that seems completely random. Something that seems to have no pattern to it. I’m talking about humans.
I’m placing all of my bets on what each ward mayor can do as humans. Nothing leaves a stronger impression on you than the people you meet.
If that’s where you’d like to take this, I’ll support you.
But will the current ward mayors agree to cooperate? Up until now, each ward has been acting independently.
You’re talking to the Ward 0 mayor here.
If they don’t agree, I’ll make them agree.