Introducing "Panoramic Driving Routes" to promote foreign tourists to visit the provinces of Hokkaido
The "Hokkaido Driving Project" to start on September 1st
TOKYO, Japan - August 30, 2017 - NAVITIME JAPAN Co. Ltd., working together with the Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, will launch the "Hokkaido Driving Project" pilot program, which will run between September 1st to November 30, 2017. The project aims to promote foreign tourists to visit the provinces of Hokkaido, and boost tourism demand during the low season.
The project will promote foreign tourists to rent a car and drive around the provinces of Hokkaido, by providing a multi-lingual app "Drive Hokkaido!" which introduces Panoramic Driving Routes; information regarding tourist spot by season; and special coupons for facilities participating in the pilot program. The app was released on July 18th.
The app supports the use of car navigation systems already installed in the rental cars, by providing tourist destination and drive route information along with MAPCODEs, which simplifies setting the destination of the car navigation. Forty three Panoramic Driving Routes across Hokkaido are also introduced - these are routes which can be considered tourist destinations itself, and not just a road to drive on to the next destination.
By providing tourist spot information along the route to the destination, tourists can reach out to spots which would otherwise have been overlooked. The Panoramic Driving Routes are not registered in the car navigation systems, so MAPCODEs are provided.
The app will also collect GPS data of the users based on their approval, and by doing so, it will make relevant spots popular among foreign tourists, roads used, and deepen understanding of trends in sights visited. The analyzed information will help enhance road transportation infrastructure policies; draw out marketing and regional economy vitalization strategies; and brush up model tourist routes.
■"Hokkaido Driving Project" pilot program overview ■Screenshot of Panoramic Driving Route (App)
Term: 2017 September 1st (Fri) to November 30th (Thur)
Area: All areas of Hokkaido except for Sapporo City
Target: Foreign tourists using car rentals and Japanese nationals having permanent resident status abroad
■"Hokkaido Driving Project" website ("Drive Hokkaido!")
■" Drive Hokkaido!" App download:
●App Store : https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1255391266
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