At the time of the establishment of the Arcadia Tourism Bureau, I was a producer of tourism promotion and community development in Shikoku and Tohoku at my previous job. I’ve been involved in the community development business of Nagai City and was a facilitator at conferences to decide the mission and vision. Currently, I advise the Strategic Council of the Arcadia Tourism Bureau and overlook various meetings, so that discussion can proceed more smoothly. In some cases, I give lectures in accordance to the topic at hand.

It is important to do community building that everyone is proud of. It is easy to get caught up in tourism associations, travel agencies, local tourism-related businesses, and tourists as the main part of regional development. However, it is important to keep the agriculture and industry workers who help build this region in mind when building a community. You have to keep that balance. If we consider regional development only as an opportunity for tourism, then we lose sight of the locals. That could lead to a diminish in happiness from over-tourism.
When talking about business it often becomes a matter of productivity, but the region cannot be talked about by productivity alone. Especially in the Tohoku region, there are many parts that cannot be talked about rationally. In tourism, that is rather a good thing. I think that following an appropriate route even if you take a detour allows you to create the community you are aiming for in the shortest possible time. Based on our mission, vision, and brand concept, we would like to support our business and action plans so that they can be linked to activities in the upcoming years.