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Proving the new tourism trend that Okinawa is the next travel destination in Japan, followed by Tokyo and Kyoto, Be.Okinawa, the global branding and marketing project for tourism in Okinawa, operated by the local government office there, says its reality web series “Okinawa: A Journey of Discovery” have hit nearly 1.4 million views since it was first released on Sept 29.
The reality web series are about seven travelers from seven countries to experience the beauty and wonder of Okinawa. Their profiles are: Food blogger from France, Musician from U.K., Crossfit Athlete from Germany, Instagrammer from Canada, Mixologist & Bar Owner from U.S., Model & Dancer from Russia, and Scuba Diver from Australia. As each traveler has a special skill that will showcase the very best Okinawa has to offer, and with unique challenges created for each of them.
It is a part of a viral marketing campaign, presented by Okinawa Prefectural Government and produced by Dentsu and STAY GOLD, and the reality web series have been distributed through this campaign to YouTube, web media, SNS, etc. Since its first introduction, each episode has been added every week to attract many viewers from around the world.
As SNS such as Facebook and Twitter is getting more popular every day, the viral marketing for travelers has become more important especially in Europe, U.S. and Australia, where many people travel individually; therefore, the campaign was targeted at those solo travelers.
Okinawa is one of the hottest Asian resorts and now begins to gather attentions from all over the world as a new tourism trend. In fact, Okinawa was ranked as 6th in the Trip Advisor’ Travelers’ Choice™ awards for “10 DESTINATIONS ON THE RISE-WORLD” for 2015. From Japan, only Okinawa was ranked in Top 10. According to Trip Advisor, the world’s largest travel site, “Award-winners were determined using an algorithm that primarily measured the year-over-year increase in positive TripAdvisor traveler review ratings on accommodations, restaurants, and attractions, across destinations worldwide.”
As a matter of fact, visitors from overseas have been almost tripled, from 284,700 in 2010 to 772,400.
Trend setters such as Hollywood celebrity have secretly paid visits. Also, Okinawa has been very popular among Japanese travelers too because of its sub-tropical climate, the world top class beaches and coral reefs, unique cultural heritages came from the Ryukyu Kingdom, which boasts nearly 600 years of history, hospitality of the local people, and relaxing mood created by their unique sense of time called “Uchina Time.”
*Uchina means local people living in Okinawa, who are non-punctual and are much forgiven about being late, not like the rest of Japan, especially a metropolitan city like Tokyo, where people find “Uchina Time” relaxing and soothing.
© Japan Today
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