The FINANCIAL — JTB Corporation, one of the leading travel agencies in Japan, and Panasonic Corporation, a major Japanese electronics company, announced today that they have developed an information platform called Traveler Relationship Management (TRM) for integrated management of traveler information, such as itinerary, for overseas travelers visiting Japan.
The move is part of their collaboration in tourism-related fields which began in June 2015 in anticipation of the year 2020 when foreign visitors to Japan are expected to reach 40 million a year.
By integrating management and operation of the various services overseas visitors use while traveling around Japan, TRM is designed to improve the convenience and quality of those services. Starting this September, the companies will begin offering on a trial basis two services through the TRM platform, with the aim to launch them on a commercial basis by March 2017. The services are “JAPAN FITTER”1) for providing multilingual tourism guidance and customer service, and “LUGGAGE-FREE TRAVEL”1) aimed to alleviate the complications with large-size luggage when overseas visitors are traveling around Japan.
As the number of overseas travelers visiting Japan rapidly increases, there are more private travelers visiting the countryside, going outside the metropolitan areas such as Tokyo. This trend has created an urgent need to develop infrastructure for supporting, in cooperation with local communities, hospitable services offered by the businesses and local governments who receive tourists, according to Panasonic.
In response to such need, JTB and Panasonic developed the TRM platform that allows for using information about visitors, such as age, nationality and itinerary, in various services. Providing services to overseas visitors using TRM makes it possible, for example, to eliminate the need for filling in information such as name and lodging address on registration forms, so tourists can use services more readily without worrying about the language barrier.
As TRM allows for managing services offered by different providers, it can enhance the convenience of overseas travelers. To begin with, JAPAN FITTER, which constitutes the touch point for providing various services, and the LUGGAGE-FREE TRAVEL service using TRM will be introduced on a trial basis before commercialization by using lodging facilities as base points. In the future, by increasing the number of businesses offering TRM and expanding the services using the TRM platform, JTB and Panasonic aim to help overseas visitors enjoy traveling around Japan through one seamless service of “Japanese hospitality.”
JTB is working on its Multicultural Communication Business for providing excitement and enjoyment through bringing people together, while Panasonic is focusing on proposing solutions integrating hardware and software to realize future lifestyles for 2020 and beyond. Going forward, the two companies will expand business partnerships in the tourism field, including related services in such areas as attractive optional tour products and mobility sharing. The companies will also accelerate development of community-based services and service business infrastructure for travelers visiting Japan, with an eye toward community revitalization through wide-area collaboration.
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