Improving Customer Convenience and Satisfaction at Ski Resorts

「With the cooperation of Little Planet, the Company newly established Japan's first all-weather attraction experience space at a farm-based theme park, expanding facilities that visitors can enjoy even in bad weather.」

「HAKUBA VALLEY Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field: Following the gondola replacement in the previous season, we renovated the base center to improve comfort. Attendance by tourists, in addition to skiers, also increased.」

「In addition, at Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort, we completely renovated the gondola lift for the first time in 38 years. The resulting improvements in comfort and transport capacity attracted many visitors, including both skiers and tourists who do not ski.」

「We also raised lift-ticket prices and worked to increase value through ongoing improvements to beverage menus, collaborations with well-known restaurants and high-value offerings such as S-Class, which provides access to an exclusive lounge. As a result, average customer spending reached a record level.」

「We introduced initiatives for tourists who do not ski, including IWATAKE WHITE PARK at HAKUBA VALLEY Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field, where visitors can enjoy snowy scenery, and the opening of Soup Stock Tokyo, its first location in Nagano Prefecture. As a result, non-skier visitors reached a record 11 thousand, up 94.2% year on year.」

「At the various facilities, we opened the Hakuba Giant Swing, an extra-large swing offering a sense of openness and thrills with spectacular views of the Northern Alps below, and held the nighttime Tenku Celestial Show every day.」

「The NSD Kids Program, which provides free season passes for elementary-school and preschool children, entered its second year this season. As a result of attracting many families to the ski resorts, membership doubled from 10 thousand in the previous season to 20 thousand, while users of the program at the group's ski resorts during the period reached 58 thousand, up 65.6% year on year. In addition, we held an exhibition match for LIMITS, a competitive digital-art event and the first such initiative at a snow resort, and developed TGPARKS, a full-scale, all-genre snow park that can be enjoyed by everyone from beginners to advanced skiers, enabling customers to enjoy park riding.」

「In addition, as a medium- to long-term initiative to expand Japan's skiing population, we continued the NSD Kids Program this season, providing free season passes for elementary-school and preschool children to make it easier for families to visit ski resorts. The number of visitors who were elementary-school or preschool children reached 24 thousand, up 45.1% year on year. We also introduced attractions for non-skiers, including DJ events at corona ESCAPE terrace and a new ice slide at HAKUBA VALLEY Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field.」

「At each facility, initiatives included a takeover event by the popular outdoor brand CHUMS at Hakuba Hitotoki-no-Mori, which grand-opened at HAKUBA VALLEY Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort, and the opening of HANETTA, a large-scale net adventure facility, at roadside station Kawaba Den-en Plaza. As a result, first-quarter visitor numbers reached a record high.」

「We strengthened operations by opening new facilities, including the new Hakuba Hitotoki-no-Mori observation area at HAKUBA VALLEY Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort, offering panoramic views of the Hakuba foothills and Northern Alps and an immersive experience of nature, and HANETTA, a sky-and-wind net adventure course, at Kawaba Resort's roadside station Kawaba Den-en Plaza.」

「In addition, to increase domestic visitor numbers, we introduced initiatives including the NSD Kids Program, which provides free season passes for children in elementary school and younger, and a collaboration with Pokémon. As a result, the number of child visitors reached 49 thousand, up 49.0% year on year, and」

「This season, the company continued efforts including introducing mountain carts, which allow riders to descend the mountain using a handlebar and brakes, operating the SORA Glamping Resort, which offers scenic views, and expanding the camping area.」

「The company sought to attract general customers by opening the ASOBOT activity park at Meihou Kogen Kaihatsu Co., Ltd. in July 2020 and installing the spectacular large swing YAHHO! SWING at HAKUBA VALLEY Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort in August 2020, which was covered by numerous media outlets.」

「Visitor numbers at HAKUBA MOUNTAIN HARBOR, which opened in October 2018, continued to grow steadily, and visitor numbers at HAKUBA VALLEY Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort reached 188% of the previous year's level. HAKUBA MOUNTAIN BEACH, which opened in July 2019, also contributed to attracting visitors and got off to a strong start.」

「At SORA terrace in Kitashiga Ryuoo, which opened in 2015 and entered its fourth green season, and at Meiho Kogen in Gifu Prefecture, we focused on operations in each area, including by renovating facilities so customers could enjoy American-style barbecues without bringing their own equipment.」

「During the cumulative second quarter, we newly held character shows featuring Kamen Rider and PreCure for families, as well as a dance recital following performances by local school wind bands to attract local customers. Although the park normally closes for the winter from the first week of January, we also held a Customer Appreciation Day during the 3-day weekend. These efforts helped maintain strong visitor numbers.」

「We expanded green-season activities for customers, including HAKUBA MOUNTAIN HARBOR, which opened at the summit of Hakuba Iwatake in October this year, and Xtrem Aventures HAKUBA TSUGAIKE WOW!, which opened at Tsugaike Kogen in August this year.」

「At each ski resort, we maintained the slopes to provide customers with a satisfying experience, managed powder zones so they could be enjoyed safely and expanded parks with kickers and jib features. We also maintained kids' parks for families and slopes for beginners, while actively conducting customer-attraction activities suited to the characteristics of each resort, including for student groups and competitive sports organizations.」

「At each ski resort, we actively held various events, including events featuring well-known overseas snowboarders. We also worked to improve customer satisfaction through service enhancements, including the reopening of SORA terrace café at Ryuoo Ski Park and attracting several high-profile restaurants to the Hakuba area.」

「Ahead of the winter season, we installed new snowmaking machines and invested in measures to address low snowfall, with the aim of opening the slopes early and expanding the fully skiable area at an early stage. We also worked to improve customer satisfaction by renovating restaurant interiors, refreshing the food and beverage menu and attracting high-profile tenants.」

「We implemented repeat-visit initiatives by holding events linked to a smartphone app and actively held various events and competitions, including events in collaboration with anime and game characters, to raise awareness and attract visitors.」

「We implemented repeat-visit initiatives by holding events linked to a smartphone app. We also actively held various events and competitions, including the International Snow Sports Instructors Federation 2017 Hakuba event, to raise awareness and attract visitors. In addition, we strengthened our ability to attract visitors and improve customer convenience by enhancing slopes and attractions for families and beginners and introducing a common auto-gate system.」

「To increase the number of domestic visitors, our group's ski resorts joined a common early-bird discounted lift-ticket program usable at ski resorts operated by Prince Hotels, Inc. and Tokyu Resort Service Co., Ltd.」

「At HAKUBA VALLEY Hakuba Happo-One, we newly opened Happo Usagi-daira Tenku Farm, operated the gondola lift at night and held a celestial observation show led by professional guides.」

「We worked to develop and expand courses in powder-snow areas.」