Photo/Illutration Officials announce the start of the Usagi-go flight attendant taxi guide package at a news conference on March 26 at the Izumo city government in Shimane Prefecture. (Takashi Sugiyama)

IZUMO, Shimane Prefecture--Izumo city has turned its eyes to the sky in its search of a way to boost local tourism, which is dwindling due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The city has come up with a unique promotion where flight attendants usher sightseers around the municipality in taxi cabs.

The idea is to get tourists to stretch out their stay in town to take in more sights and attractions than they usually do--often only the most famous spot, the Izumo Taisha shrine.

The new offering has proven popular, and the city is pouring its hopes into the new taxi tourism tactic.

The Usagi-go (rabbit) taxi tours kicked off in September last year, where local female guides would accompany cab riders on a tour of the city’s sightseeing spots.

It quickly proved to be a hit, and officials decided that in spring, they would call in flight attendants from Japan Airlines Co. (JAL), who have an exceptional reputation for customer service, to serve as guides.

The city was looking for a novel way to promote tourism, and JAL was struggling to handle personnel with no tasks assigned to them to do due to the significantly scaled-back number of scheduled flights amid the pandemic.

Around 20 flight attendants and other staff members went through a training program to learn about Izumo by April in preparation for their debut on May 4.

The planned start was postponed because of the state of emergency declared for Tokyo, Osaka and other areas. But a flood of inquiries came in about the tours, prompting the city to quickly step up the number being offered.

It allocated 3.3 million yen ($29,900) in the June supplementary budget to have two cabin attendants work six days a week, while a single crew member would serve as a guide three times a week in the initial plan. 

The project started on a full scale on June 30.

“As the extension of the cabin attendant version of Usagi-go gives us a burst of momentum, we will further proceed with tourism promotion to attract more people to stay in the city,” said Toshiyuki Mitsunari, head of the municipality’s tourism department.

The municipality’s concerted effort with the new tours is being fueled by the sluggish tourism numbers brought on by the ongoing health crisis.

Around 12 million people visited Izumo annually between 2017 and 2019, but that figure declined to 8.8 million in 2020, when the pandemic began, according to an estimate by the city.

Despite being a famous tourism destination, no more than 5 million people visited the Izumo Taisha shrine, which is one of the oldest and most important Shinto shrines in Japan, and the surrounding areas.

On top of that, fewer visitors are staying overnight in Izumo.

A municipal survey shows the normal annual overnight guest number hovers only between 600,000 and 800,000. For 2020 it dropped to an estimated 550,000. Officials think most sightseers are instead staying at onsen resort hotels in nearby Matsue or neighboring Tottori Prefecture.

Visitors who spent a night in Izumo last year toured an average of just 1.3 sightseeing spots in the city, according to tourism statistics. Officials hope the new tour package will help fix that.

“The data indicates that tourists effectively visit no destinations other than Izumo Taisha,” said a city official who was astounded by the figure. “It is important to find a way to encourage them not to skip spots in the city so they will stay overnight.”

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