News

by Tomomi Shineha, Staff Writer

In preparation for the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations) in Hiroshima next May, in 2023, tourist shops and hotels in the city are accelerating their preparations for welcoming tourists from Japan and overseas. The organizations have set up special departments to introduce and promote Hiroshima Prefecture’s local products and initiated language training sessions for employees. With an eye on increased tourist numbers even after the summit, they are making enhanced efforts to upgrade their hospitality for visitors.

On November 7, the tourist shop on the first floor of Orizuru Tower, a commercial complex located in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, has opened a department in the store that features Hiroshima’s classic souvenirs and other items recommended by staff as well as established displays advertising the “Hiroshima Summit” in Japanese and English. The shop displays and sells 20 special items, including Hiroshima Lemon Soda, a drink served at the dinner meeting of U.S. President Joseph Biden and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida this past May, as well as the Japanese sake Daiginjo Special Gold Kamotsuru that former U.S. President Barack Obama enjoyed during his visit in 2016.

Junko Daikoku, manager of the Orizuru Tower, which is operated by Hiroshima Mazda, a sales office located in the city’s Naka Ward, said, “Some tourists don’t know the next G7 summit will take place in Hiroshima. We hope to increase momentum toward the summit by promoting the prefecture’s local products.” The shop intends to continue increasing the number of products displayed and sold.

In October, the RHIGA Royal Hotel Hiroshima, also located in Naka Ward, launched weekly English conversation training classes, with their non-Japanese staff serving as instructors. The classes are being made available for about 120 employees working in customer service. Classroom sessions and workshops will be held through April of next year, 2023. The hotel previously held language training sessions on an irregular basis, but the classes had been suspended for the last three years with the steep decline in numbers of overseas travelers visiting Japan due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Soyoka Fujii, 25, a food and beverage department staff member who started working at the hotel in 2020, said, “I am pleased with the language classes and the chance to learn phrases that can be used immediately at the work site. My motivation to learn has increased through regular attendance at the training sessions.” Keisuke Tatamitani, the hotel’s assistant manager said about the objective of the classes, “We are aiming to enhance our employees’ customer service skills with an eye on the return of overseas visitors even after the summit.”

Media members and other representatives from around the world are expected to gather in Hiroshima during the summit. With that, a move is underway locally to respond to diverse dietary demands. On November 16, the Hiroshima Convention & Visitors Bureau, located in the city’s Naka Ward, will hold a seminar at a venue in Naka Ward on vegetarian food offerings aimed at restaurants and food processing companies in the city. The bureau’s secretariat explained that, “Overseas restaurants are usually able to respond to diverse food requests. I hope that the summit will provide a good opportunity for seminar attendees to find new customers.”

(Originally published on November 10, 2022)