What is Setouchi DMO?
Revitalizing the region through establishment of the Setouchi Brand
Through establishment of the Setouchi Brand, Setouchi DMO aims to create a rich local community while revitalizing the local economy. We plan to increase the number of visitors to Setouchi by enhancing information on the area’s charms both overseas and domestically. Our mission is to create autonomous and lasting cyclical growth of the Setouchi area through development of the Setouchi brand by evoking excitement among local businesses and residents, creating new industries, and promoting expansion of local employment and the population.
SetouchiDMO Mission and Vision
Mission
We will achieve regional revitalization by working with local communities to make
Setouchi the world’s No.1 destination that everyone around the world can admire
and that everyone in the region can take pride in.
Vision
- 1. Fans from Japan and abroad are constantly visiting Setouchi, where people and nature are at ease.
- 2. The community and people are connected and proud to live in Setouchi.
- 3. The sustainable management of tourist spots has enriched the region and fostered human resources for tourism.
Organisation info
SETOUCHI DMO
As a front runner, conducting cross-prefectural management of the tourist destinations in Setouchi
In 2013, the seven prefectures surrounding Setouchi (Hyogo, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Kagawa and Ehime) formed Setouchi Brand Suishin Rengo in order to jointly promote tourism destination branding of Setouchi as a whole and to promote unified tourism marketing and product development. The Setouchi DMO is an organization newly established as a front runner aiming at globally competitive and sustainable management of tourist destinations by furthering this task.
What is the Setouchi DMO?
DMO（Destination Management/Marketing Organization）conducts an integrated management of the entire region by vitalizing the tourist destinations. The Setouchi DMO consists of The Inland Sea, SETOUCHI Tourism Authority,which plans and carries out tourism marketing promotion, and the Setouchi Brand Corporation Inc. that supports tourism product development by utilizing the Setouchi Kanko Kasseika Fund. Making the most of the broad and varied tourism resources of Setouchi, the Setouchi DMO, together with relevant parties, conducts information dissemination, promoting activities, effective marketing and strategy formulation, and encourages the local tourism-related business operators to develop tourist destinations.
The Inland Sea, SETOUCHI Tourism Authority
Private businesses joined the organization launched by the governments of the seven prefectures bordering the Seto Inland Sea to launch the authority as a foundation in March 2016.The Inland Sea, SETOUCHI Tourism Authority promotes the attractions of Setouchi to people at home and abroad and creates new tourism demand through strategic marketing based on thorough research. The Inland Sea, SETOUCHI Tourism Authority also aims to promote the development of new tourism products such as services for tourists and local specialties in cooperation with the Setouchi Brand Corporation Inc. so that tourists can experience the authentic charms of the Setouchi.
| Corporate name | The Inland Sea, SETOUCHI Tourism Authority |
| Established | March 10, 2016 |
| Address | 10-3 Motomachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima |
| Representative | Seiji Manabe, President |
| Missions | ■Restoring the tourism-related industries of the Setouchi ■Revitalizing the local economy through increasing the number of visitors ■Realizing a rich local community |
| Prefectures and Companies Involved | The prefectures of Hyogo, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime. Chugoku Economic Federation, Shikoku Railway Company, JTB Corp., West Japan Railway Company, Japan Airlines Co., Ltd., Nippon Travel Agency Co., Ltd., Rakuten Inc. Travel, Recruit Lifestyle Co., Ltd,Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Co., Ltd. |
Setouchi Brand Corporation Inc.
The Setouchi Brand Corporation Inc. was established in April 2016, with investment from 46 bodies including financial institutions mostly in the Setouchi Region, and companies in and out of the Region. In close cooperation with The Inland Sea, SETOUCHI Tourism Authority, the Setouchi Brand Corporation Inc. aims not only to expand self-initiated projects as the host for tourism demand created through promotional activities but also to maximize the value of Setouchi by supporting business development, management and financial assistance for tourism-related business operators utilizing the 9.8 billion yen tourism activation fund and providing membership projects.
| Corporate name | Setouchi Brand Corporation Inc. |
| Established | April 1, 2016 |
| Address | 10-3 Motomachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima |
| Representative | Tomoyuki Tabei, President |
| Missions | ■Providing financial and business support necessary for the growth and expansion of businesses and commercialization ■Constructing a tourism-related system for companies in the Setouchi ■Providing tourist information services |
| Investors | Number of Local banks: 12／Number of governmental financial institutions:1／Number of Shinkin banks: 6／Number of Transportation businesses: 7／Number of manufacturers: 5／Number of retailers: 4／Others: 11 |
History
| The Inland Sea, SETOUCHI Tourism Authority | Setouchi Brand Corporation Inc. | |
|---|---|---|
| March 2011 | Establishment of Setouchi Umi No Michi Koso | |
| May 2012 | Establishment of Setouchi Brand Suishin Kyogikai | |
| January 2013 | Started Setouchi Brand certification (the current Setouchi brand registration) | |
| April 2013 | Start of the private organisation Setouchi Brand Suishin Rengo | |
| October 2014 | Launched the commercialization support organization conference | |
| May 2015 | Concluded the “Agreement on the Tourist Industry Revitalization of the Setouchi region” by 6 local banks in the Setouchi region and the Development Bank of Japan (On additional local bank concluded a “memorandum” on the above agreement, and joined in July) |
|
| June 2015 | The extensive sightseeing route Setouchi Uminomichi approved by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism | |
| July 2015 | Announcement of the incorporation of Setouchi Brand Suishin Rengo | Set up the Commercialization Support Organization Promotion Center |
| Concluded an “Agreement on the Setouchi Brand Promotion System” by the “Setouchi Brand Suishin Rengo” and “7 local banks in the Setouchi region and the Development Bank of Japan | ||
| February 2016 | Registered with the Japan Tourism Agency as a “Japanese DMO candidate corporation” | |
| March 2016 | Establishment of The Inland Sea, SETOUCHI Tourism Authority | |
| April 2016 | Establishment of the Setouchi Brand Corporation Inc. | |
| Started the Setouchi DMO operations | ||
| February 2017 | Started the membership system “Setouchi DMO Members” | |
| November 2017 | Registered with the Japan Tourism Agency as a “Japanese DMO” *Register again starting as a “Japanese DMO candidate corporation” |
February 2024 | Re-registration with the Japan Tourism Agency as a “Destination Marketing/Management Organization (DMO)” |