Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan
On March 27, 2026, the 5th Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan was approved by the Cabinet. Not everything included will necessarily proceed according to plan, but even so, looking at the content reveals the overall direction, so I would like to list the key points that I consider important.
First, tourism was explicitly identified as a strategic industry. Inbound tourism spending in 2025 reached 9.5 trillion yen, making it the second-largest export industry after the automobile industry. This plan sets a target of increasing inbound travelers from 42.68 million in 2025 to 60 million by 2030 (with inbound tourism spending of 15 trillion yen). To achieve this, it is necessary to create a more regionally distributed visitor-attraction structure so that not only major metropolitan areas, but also regional areas can attract visitors, and this need is also incorporated into the basic plan.
Second, spending on domestic travel by Japanese people reached a record high of 26.8 trillion yen in 2025, and the 2030 target was significantly increased from 22 trillion yen to 30 trillion yen. Even if it remained at 26.8 trillion yen, the structure in which the domestic market is large would remain unchanged, and it can be said that this is the most important market in Japan’s tourism industry.
Third, it explicitly states that low productivity in the tourism industry is an issue, and initiatives to improve productivity are expected to move forward. One of the initiatives also incorporates my long-held belief in leveling domestic demand throughout the year. As the population declines, in order to maintain a huge domestic market, it is important to solve the various problems caused by demand concentrating on specific days.
What can be said from these three points is that, in order to continue growing Japan’s tourism industry and achieve its goals, it is important to expand demand for regional areas that are still not well known internationally, and that many initiatives will be carried out for both inbound and domestic demand. Most of Hoshino Resorts' locations are situated in these regional areas, and we want to actively participate in promotions in step with regional and national policies.
FleBOL Full-Scale Launch
One of the issues clearly stated in the Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan is the digital transformation of tourism. In this field, Hoshino Resorts has been taking the initiative. It has started to sequentially roll out a core system that enhsnces the guests booking experience across Hoshino Resorts facilities. This is a completely new system that has been years in the making. A key lesson from the five-way positioning theory is that ease of access can become a sustainable competitive advantage, and Hoshino Resorts has continued to invest in improving the booking experience. This led to achieving a direct booking ratio of 70%, and in attracting inbound travelers as well, we kept the direct booking ratio at over 60%. And now, in order to realize services that cannot be achieved through improvements to existing systems, we are proceeding with the development and implementation of an entirely new core system.
One of the first services built on the platform is Flexible Booking Online (FleBOL), which aims to go beyond the limitations that have long existed in the industry and continue evolving year after year.
As the first in a series of services made possible by FleBOL, in 2025 we released a feature that allows users to easily make changes online after booking, including changes to dates, room type, number of guests, and plan. Perhaps because people are accustomed to many apps in the world continuously introducing new services, customers quickly came to regard these features as standards in the hotel industry. Aside from very small properties or facilities that still rely on manual operations, few hotels have been able to offer this level of flexibility. The Hoshino Resorts booking experience is steadily becoming a clear competitive advantage.
And in 2026, as the second phase, the flexible online meal reservation service that I have been envisioning for more than 10 years will become a reality. Services are scheduled to be introduced in phases from July to November 2026.
For an urban hotel, a room reservation function is sufficient, but at a resort facility, it is necessary to arrange meals and activities. In particular, there is strong demand for one-night packages that include two mealst at hot spring ryokan and resort hotels. The same applies in the inbound market. When the place they are staying is not in an urban area, most customers try to secure meals in advance.
The meal arrangement service provided by FleBOL is as follows. When booking two nights at a hot spring ryokan or resort hotel at the one-night stay with two meals included, guests will be able to specify when making the reservation that they want to reserve a restaurant in the hotel for the first night and not make a dinner reservation for the second night. When there are two restaurants in the resort hotels, they can also book different restaurants for the first and second nights. Even after completing their reservation, they can modify their selections at any time.That is not all. KAI introduced a vegetarian course in 2025 in response to strong demand from inbound travelers, and on the FleBOL2026 reservation site, customers can book the vegetarian course for one of the two guests. Of course, if there are two or more regular courses, or if there are made-to-order dishes, these can also be included in the settings. Separate settings can now be configured for dinner and breakfast on each lodging date. When the price changes due to a reservation modification, the difference is displayed, and the bill can be settled automatically simply by approving it.
We believe that giving customers the freedom to customize meals online will lead to an expansion of overall demand. One reason why it has been difficult until now to enjoy multi-night stays at hot spring ryokan and resort hotels is the lack of flexibility in meal arrangements. Not only did the experience of dining at the same restaurant for two consecutive days feel negative, but the inclusion of an unnecessary dinner also made the overall price seem higher. Some facilities allow this to be arranged by calling and making a request, but making it easy to do online not only helps promote multi-night stays, it also dramatically improves productivity and accuracy in operations. This service is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of 2026.
The introduction of FleBOL to Hoshino Resorts operated properties is being carried out gradually, and by autumn 2026 it will be introduced at most OMO properties. Being able to freely add or remove breakfast after making a reservation is a plus. You can check the real-time implementation status on the FleBOL special page. Hoshino Resorts will continue to invest in the evolution of FleBOL and plans to strengthen its competitive advantage by enhancing the pre-travel experience.
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