Shuttles allow ski resort to spread tourism to neighboring city
TOKYO >> Hotels and restaurants in the popular Hakuba ski resort village are packed to capacity amid a surge in international tourists on the slopes, and visitors to the village are expected to grow this season.
“I’m worried that tourists will start opting for other ski resorts because all the accommodations in Hakuba are full,” a local ski industry official said.
To address concerns of overtourism, free shuttle services connecting Hakuba and the neighboring city of Omachi, both in Nagano prefecture, were introduced in December.
The “Gurutto Bus” (excursion bus) program encourages winter tourists to book lodgings in Omachi, where they can enjoy relaxing dinners and accommodations.
The lodging shuttle is a 45-seat bus that runs through Feb. 24. During the morning, the shuttle leaves ANA Holiday Inn Resort Shinano-Omachi Kuroyon and the Omachi Onsenkyo hot spring district for the slopes in Hakuba, then returns to Omachi in the evening. About 2,000 people are expected to use the service during the season.
The dining shuttle seats 27 passengers and runs on weekdays through Feb. 21. It leaves from Hakuba Tokyu Hotel and Happo Bus Terminal in the evening and travels to the Omachi Onsenkyo hot spring district and Shinano Omachi Station. Passengers have dinner in Omachi and return to Hakuba by 10 p.m. An estimated 500 people are expected to use the transport.
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The shuttles, budgeted at about 10 million yen (about $63,300), are operated by a council of Omachi officials and the local ski industry. Operators will participate in a subsidy program that promotes sustainable tourism through addressing overtourism.
Nearly 1.13 million tourists visited Hakuba from November 2023 to February 2024, the highest number for any such period in the past 20 years. Ski resort visitors over the same period numbered approximately 810,000, up 1.2 times from the same period the previous year; nearly 50% were foreigners.
The Matsumoto municipal government in Nagano, meanwhile, conducted a trial with a bus connecting Hakuba with Matsumoto restaurants and sightseeing spots last year, from Jan. 17 to Feb. 14, aiming to attract foreign tourists visiting Hakuba to their city.
Though ridership was small, the number of tourists from Asia has seen high growth and is expected to grow further, and Matsumoto plans to continue the program.