As part of the efforts of the “WaaS Co-Creation Consortium” sponsored by JR East, four companies, JR East, NTT Comware, NTT Communications (NTT Com), and BeMap, are providing the app “Morioka Mekuri” that uses AI to recommend attractive spots in the area, and are conducting a demonstration experiment to encourage behavioral changes among tourists.
The WaaS Co-Creation Consortium is a consortium that aims to improve the value of transportation and space in order to realize a well-being society.

This demonstration experiment will be carried out from July 19th this year as the second installment of the demonstration experiment conducted in February this year. Based on the results of February, a push notification function has been added, and by notifying “recommended experiences” and “notices from stores and facilities” in real time according to the tourist’s situation, the aim is to further increase the rate of visits and create local fans.
In the demonstration experiment in February, about 17,000 people used “Morioka Mekuri”. It was confirmed that proposing travel experiences using AI is effective in “creating opportunities to visit Morioka.”

As the next step in this demonstration experiment, we are working on “improving the rate of visits” and “creating local fans.”

Push notifications are sent based on predictions of future travel behavior, and recommendations tailored to tourists are sent in real time. By verifying the effectiveness of this, we hope to encourage visits to Morioka city and the entire Iwate prefecture.

It is possible to refer to Morioka’s tourist spots, facilities, shops, travelogues, and introduction articles. Furthermore, by enabling push notifications, it is possible to obtain “recommended experience and event information” and “notices from shops and facilities.”

JR East is in charge of planning the demonstration experiment.

NTT Comware provides the “Morioka Mekuri” application and the data analysis platform. It is also in charge of content production and online promotion. NTT Com is in charge of conducting surveys and analyzing data related to the demonstration experiment.

Bmap is in charge of offline promotion.

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