Tencent Cloud Presents Smart Tourism Solutions in Central Region of Japan

Tencent Cloud announced the launch of its joint project with the Central Japan International Airport Promotion Council and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. to build a one-stop smart tourism solution that aims to promote the recovery of the tourism in Nagoya and other cities in central region of Japan (Chubu). The collaboration sets its sights on helping Japan local businesses and tourism initiatives in reaching travellers from China and from all over the world, in preparation for the post-pandemic era.

China is seen as a top contributor to Japanese tourism, with Japan welcoming approximately 9.6 million Chinese tourists in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit[1]. Despite the significant decline in 2020 due to global restriction measures, travellers from China were recorded to be the most numerous among Japan's foreign visitors that year, amounting to about 1.1 million tourists from the mainland – demonstrating the need for a Japanese tourism recovery boost aimed at Chinese tourists.

Backed by Tencent Cloud's innovative technologies, as provided by the one-stop smart tourism solution, the Central Japan International Airport Promotion Council and Mitsui & Co., Ltd have launched a Weixin Mini Program to better connect with inbound travellers through travel and culture content recommendations such as route and attraction suggestions, shopping and food insights as well as calendars of festivities in Nagoya and the Chubu region.

Leveraging Weixin and WeChat's user base of 1.2 billion+ monthly active users, Tencent Cloud's robust technology platform and strong digital marketing service capabilities, the one-stop smart tourism solution features a variety of functions, including translation services, tax refund, tourist map, access to emergency information, in addition to route, attraction and gourmet discovery. Chinese visitors can explore the Chubu region with ease all within a Weixin Mini Program back by Tencent Cloud.

Poshu Yeung, Senior Vice President, Tencent Cloud International, said, "As part of our mission to assist global tourism in response to pandemic-related challenges, we are pleased to be working with the Central Japan International Airport Promotion Council and Mitsui & Co., Ltd in providing a one-stop smart tourism solution to Japan-bound tourists, especially those who are traveling from China. We look forward to this new opportunity to showcase Tencent Cloud's high-quality and high-performance technologies that are more than able to support tourism, travel and hospitality industries anywhere in the world."

Isao Kohiyama, Managing officer, Chief Operating Officer, IT & Communication Business Unit, Mitsui & Co. & Ltd, said, "Leveraging the power of digital transformation, the one-stop smart tourism solution provided by Tencent Cloud can address the demands of travelers including Chinese tourists to Japan, as well as meeting the needs from local government as well as tourism-related businesses in Japan. In collaboration with Tencent Cloud, Mitsui & Co. Ltd will further support the digital transformation journey of the local government and tourism industry amid the post-pandemic era."