An example of the SkyWare app SkyWareアプリの例
将来的に紙の観光パンフが要らなくなるのではないかと思う。なぜなら、スマホの利用が増えて、尚且つ観光アプリが充実してきて、観光アプリで対応できるようになるから。
アプリ利用に利点は
＊更新はすぐできる
＊動画も取り入れられる
＊多言語が出来る
＊GPS機能が付くから観光客は地図のどこにいるかが分かる
＊樹を殺さなくて済む。
長野県の中で佐久市が進んでいる方です。今日は千曲市の観光課の方々と佐久市の役場へ行って、どういう取り組みしているかの説明を受けました。特に中仙道や佐久市の歴史的なお寺や神社の情報が濃い。実際に紙媒体のパンフの一部を止めたと言う成功事例になっている。と言いながら、利用人数がまだ少ない事と、海外の旅行社の対応（外国からのスマホでGPSの機能を使ったら国際電話になって高く付く）等の悩みが残っているそうです。
千曲市の役場の皆さんは観光客以外に、一般市民にも役に立つ（バス停やルートの情報、市の施設の紹介など）事で興味が深かったようだ。インバウンドの事ももちろん対応性がありそう。
（インバウンドの事で一つ笑えたのは市内の宿泊施設が海外のホテル予約サイトの登録の必要性の話になって、役場の方が「登録してないのか？努力不足だ！」と騒ぎ出した。だから私が苦労しているのよ！）
I firmly believe that in the future, we won't need any paper-based travel brochures. More and more people are using smart phones, and more and more travel applications are being developed, gradually they will take the place of paper pamphlets.
Smart phone travel app benefits include:
*Ease of updating
*Video and other formats can be added
*Foreign languages can be conveniently added
*GPS functions allow users to see where they are on maps
*You don't need to kill trees to make them.
Here in Nagano Prefecture, Saku City is on the cutting edge of smart phone tourism app development. Several members of the Chikuma City Tourism Dept. went on a mission to Saku to hear their story, and I tagged along.
Saku's tourism app is particularly strong in info on Nakasendo (the old road between Tokyo and Kyoto) spots as well as historical shrines and temples. They have in fact done away with at least one paper-based brochure thanks to the new app. The down-side is the actual numbers of people using the app and sightseeing in Saku is still pretty limited.
The group from Chikuma's city hall seemed to be excited not only about the tourism possibilities for such an app, but the usefulness for citizens of the city as well. For example, bus route info and hours, etc. for city services. As for using such an app as a tool for attracting tourists from overseas ('inbound'), there was a definite interest in that, too.
As a sidenote, talking about 'inbound' and the need for our town's hotels and inns to be listed on overseas accommodation booking sites, the leader was upset: "They aren't listed? Are they being lazy?" Why do you think I've been working so hard?!?!
佐久市の使っている観光アプリSkyWare, the tourism app that Saku City is using
