Showa Kankosha Co., Ltd.Hiroshima for Global Peace

Showa Kankosha Co., Ltd.

Partner for creating people-friendly tourism and a happy society

Targets

17.17. Encourage and promote effective public, public-private, and civil and student society partnerships building on the experience and resource strategies of partnerships, in pursuit of promoting universal tourism (aiming to create an environment where everyone can enjoy travel with peace of mind) and stay-type tourism as well as helping the realization of future happy life.

8.9. Devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that will lead to job creation and content development (e.g., promotion of local culture, revival of unique local cuisine, and promotion of local products) through universal tourism and stay-type tourism.

8.2. Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation by promoting the acquisition of the certification for barrier-free mindset for tourist facilities from the Japan Tourism Agency through reasonable accommodation and information dissemination using barrier-free renovations, training programs, and welfare equipment with the aim of promoting universal tourism and stay-type tourism, and by focusing on high-value added and labor-intensive sectors.

10.3. Ensure universal tourism and equal opportunities for citizens to go out and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices, and promoting appropriate relevant legislation, policies and actions, such as the Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities and the Act on Promotion of Smooth Transportation, etc. of Elderly Persons, Disabled Persons, etc.

4.4. Substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have the relevant skills necessary for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship, including technical and vocational skills of related persons (e.g., those involved in travel, accommodation, tourist facilities, and transportation, supporters, and helpers for bathing in local hot springs), through universal tourism.

11.7 Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces for people, in particular for pregnant women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, through people-friendly stay-type tourism (universal tourism in collaboration with local communities).

This is who we are!

To promote universal tourism, which allows everyone to enjoy travel with peace of mind, we have been promoting initiatives from both the travel business and the consulting business.
We aim to be a partner for creating sustainable tourism and future life by promoting people-friendly stay-type tourism, training for tour management and tourist facilities, content development, verification and information dissemination of monitor tours, and efforts to increase exchange population and migrants through events and other activities unique to each region.

Initiative details

We have been conducting the “Wing of Heart Barrier-Free Tour” for 27 years. This tour is designed to be enjoyable even for the elderly and persons with disabilities by arranging wheelchair-only seats on Shinkansen bullet trains and limited express trains, and offering a choice of services, such as welfare taxies, barrier-free rooms, chartered baths, local hot spring helpers, and transfer assistance by tour attendants.
To date, this tour has been conducted more than 560 times, and we have received positive feedback from participants, such as “I’m happy to realize our wish” and “It was the best rehabilitation and refreshment I’ve ever had.”
By conducting the tour, we are contributing not only to the participants’ motivation in life, but also to the creation of employment and a sense of reward for the tour attendants and supporters (senior helpers, nurses, hot spring helpers, etc.).
Through the tour, we aim to create a society where various people can enjoy travel and hot springs, and feel joy, motivation, and happiness of life.

Under the basic philosophy of universal tourism as defined by the Japan Tourism Agency, we provide training for tourist facilities to promote the acceptance of diverse people. In the training, we inform hot spring accommodation facilities, restaurants, and other facilities of the problems reported by about 20,000 travelers and the examples of how they have been addressed, and encourage these facilities to communicate on their websites the information on reasonable accommodation such as rental equipment and other information that users may want to know. By doing so, it will be possible to respond to a wide range of needs of more diverse people, and the visualization of accessibility will make it easier for users to make decisions.
In addition, we also support the promotion of the “certification program for barrier-free mindset for tourist facilities,” a program established by the Japan Tourism Agency to certify tourist facilities that are proactive in implementing barrier-free measures and disseminating information.

Seminars, training programs, and promotion projects for people-friendly tourism

In this way, we aim to promote universal tourism while creating joy and a sense of reward by leveraging partnerships with tourism operators, citizen supporters, and others. At the same time, we will also contribute to the regional revitalization by developing communities that people wish to visit once again or live in through our initiatives.

Key Points

Generally, many people enjoy tourism as a leisure activity. However, for those who are unable to travel as freely as they wish, tourism is the hope of life and the future itself.
In the course of operating our business, we have begun to find what is missing in facilities, transportation, and community structures. We believe that our role is to communicate these issues to make them known to many people, and create a better society together with the elderly, persons with disabilities, their family members, and other related parties.
By collaborating with partners who support and resonate with our initiatives, we aim to build people-friendly tourism and future life.