With an eye on the end of the novel coronavirus pandemic, southern Hokkaido’s Hakodate City has started focusing on tourism promotion aimed at foreign tourists. Because traditional foreign on-location promotion efforts are currently not possible, the plan is to broadcast a special internet show using social media. Hakodate City is exploring new tourism promotion methods.

“Look! This hamburger is big and juicy. And the French fries are covered with cheese!” —
Evening on December 26 of last year at the Marina Suehiro location of “Lucky Pierrot”, famous for its hamburgers. Outdoor instructor Li, a Tokyo resident from Taiwan, speaks into a video camera from Hakodate. The broadcast destination is Taipei, Taiwan. Amidst the 80 Hakodate fans gathered at the Taipei venue, a shout of, “Wow, that looks delicious,” can be heard.

Li has had experience studying abroad at Hokkaido University, and he appears on screen as the Hakodate area reporter in this event organized by Hakodate City in Taipei. In addition to broadcasting from Hakodate, the event introduced all sorts of tourist spots in a two hour show. On the day of the event, Hakodate was experiencing strong wind and snow, with a maximum instantaneous wind velocity that exceeded 20 meters. But foreign snowy environments are extremely popular in Taiwan, and Li proclaims, “This is actually perfect weather.” Touching and showing everyone the fluffy snow, twenty minutes passed by in a flash. The video footage was broadcast on the internet, and is still available for viewing. The total view count has apparently reached over ten thousand views.

On December 19 of last year as well, a live internet show was also broadcast for audiences in China. In a plan organized by entities including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chinese influencers used video to link together Taipei and four Japanese locations, including Hakodate. For the Hakodate segment of that show, a local sweets shop promoted its products, including their cheese cake. This show was also a hit, enjoying a total of 1,680,000 views.

The Hakodate City International Tourism Division reported, “For now we are relying mainly on the internet, and when the coronavirus situation abates we want to add in-person promotion and strengthen our promotion efforts.”