JAL, which has bases throughout Japan, has been continuously implementing regional revitalization initiatives (currently the “JAL Furusato Project”), and in August 2020 launched the “JAL Furusato Ambassadors,” cabin crew members selected through an in-house recruitment process who move to the area to promote initiatives in their respective regions. In December of the same year, JAL appointed “JAL Hometown Cheering Troops” who are involved in regional revitalization while serving as flight attendants. The aim is to develop products and solve regional issues for hometowns and other regions with which they have connections, utilizing the knowledge they have accumulated as flight attendants.
We spoke with Miho Yoshida, a JAL Furusato Ambassador who is involved in disseminating information about Miyazaki City in Miyazaki Prefecture.
–What can you tell us about your initiatives?
Miyazaki Prefecture, located in the southeast of Kyushu, is the “Hinata of Japan” with a mild climate and abundant natural blessings from the sea, mountains, and rivers. It is also blessed with abundant nature and a treasure trove of culinary treasures. Miyazaki City, the capital city of Miyazaki Prefecture, is home to many tourist attractions such as Aoshima and Nishitachi, and is served by the Miyazaki Bougainvillea Airport, Miyazaki Car Ferry, and other major transportation networks. In order to make such attractive Miyazaki City more known to people overseas, this year we held a project and event together with the people of Miyazaki City and disseminated information about the event to the rest of the world.
–How are you involved in this effort?
In order to promote Miyazaki City overseas, we believe it is important to share information and build a community of people who are actually involved in Miyazaki City, so we have planned this project around two main initiatives.
The first was an “Intercultural Communication Course” for customer service staff in Miyazaki City who have many opportunities to interact with overseas customers, where they learned non-verbal communication skills and various cultural differences from a lecture by a JAL flight attendant. The lecture was designed to help participants learn about non-verbal communication skills and cultural differences, and to gain insight into the future of inbound travel.
The second was a cross-cultural exchange CAFE by Generation Z, the future leaders of Miyazaki City. University students attending a university in Miyazaki City and international students from abroad attending the Japanese language department of Miyazaki Information Business and Medical College held an exchange meeting to experience the differences in their cultures and ways of thinking. They also exchanged opinions about what makes Miyazaki a good place to live and what could be improved to make it easier for people from overseas to live in Miyazaki.
We would like to continue to hold this kind of CAFE for the student community.
–What are your future plans and prospects?
For this initiative, we have teamed up with Trade Media Japan and plan to publish articles translated into Chinese and English for Chinese-speaking countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. We hope that these articles will help people overseas learn about Miyazaki City and encourage them to visit.
–What is your message to travelers?
In the 1960s, Miyazaki was in the midst of a “honeymoon boom,” and young people longed to “get on a plane and go to Miyazaki!” was the dream of many young people. Although times may have changed, the warmth of the people living in Miyazaki and its mild climate and time flowing slowly like a tropical resort are still firmly rooted here in 2022.
Encounters with the kind-hearted people of Miyazaki Prefecture, who may be a bit meddlesome, will surely be a memorable and wonderful experience for everyone in Japan and abroad. Why not visit Miyazaki for such a wonderful experience?
I’ll be in Miyazaki!
© Source travel watch
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