Recently, the Nishi-Awa Tourism Area issued a request for proposals for a new English-language website. The RFP specified a website with a focus on story-telling to appeal to independent travelers.
In response, JR Shikoku Kikaku, the planning division of Japan Railways Shikoku, created a team comprising Japan Inbound and Eyemovic, Shikoku’s largest web company. Japan Inbound proposed a clean and modern responsive design based on a concept of tours in each season. The tours will be offered through Japan Inbound’s ShikokuTours.com website. Our team won the contract, which allowed a very short one-month period for delivery.
Working efficiently with JR Shikoku Kikaku and Eyemovic, Japan Inbound fleshed out the site design, gathered material and photos onsite in Nishi-Awa, and wrote copy. One of the challenges was to ensure that the final product was not unduly influenced by the institutional instincts of the local authority responsible for the site. Here, Japan Inbound presented cogent and persuasive arguments to ensure the integrity of the design concept.
The site went online on March 18. It will be developed further with rich, reality-based content. Currently, the Nishi-Awa website appears to be the only inbound tourism site in Shikoku without poorly-translated re-purposed Japanese material, and with content and design created with an uncompromising focus on the needs and interests of inbound visitors.