"Hospitality Development"
by
Hirohide Konami (Ph.D.)
Professor
Graduate School of Regional Development Studies
Toyo University, Tokyo, Japan
1. Introduction
While
the "Hospitality Development" sounds like the development of some
service industries, what I would like to mention here is not the development
of industries but the development of "Hospitality Spirits".
It
is needless to say that the mutual understanding is the most effective measure
to avoid the mutual conflicts, and tourism is one of the best methods to deepen
the mutual understandings.
Japan
could have kept the battle-less country from early 1600s to 1860s under the
administration of Shogun Tokugawas. The foundation of such long time peace
would have been realized by the frequent and regular interchange of Daimyos
(Governors at present) in Capital Edo (Tokyo), well-planned transportation,
tourism accommodations, information and communication system all over the
country, and the strict disciplines of the national people. These fundamental
principles would be the same in case of the development of tourism. If the
strict discipline were coupled with the hospitality spirit, this would be
what the human being has been looking for.
This
paper examines how to develop the hospitality spirit in tourism.
2.
Historical change of tourism in Japan
When
a Daimyo traveled to Edo, there were 53 designated lodging towns between Tokyo
and Osaka for every 10 or 15 km. All highways in the country were arranged
for lodging in the same way. Every Daimyo (total number of Daimyo was estimated
as 260-270 in the country) was forced to live one year in Edo and another
year in his own dominion leaving his wife and children always in Edo. This
regular travel developed Japanese transportation and communication system
connecting 260 - 270 cities and towns each other.
National
people also allowed traveling using this highway and lodging system unless
Daimyo's travels were not interfered. Check points called "Sekisho"
were located at main boundary of dominions and travelers should bear travel
pass issued from the government. Outflow of women and inflow of weapons were
checked severely. Woman's traveling by alone were said to be dangerous but
there were many woman travelers and seemed to be safe enough.
Another
aspect of those days is almost no threat for theft. This continued until 1940s
in Japan and it was usual that normal homes and temples never locked in their
entrance except at night. It was also common that if a traveler faced some
difficulty on the way, he or she could easily get the help of the people nearby
including a temporally free feeding and lodging.
Under
these circumstances Japanese traditional hospitality spirit had been performed.
But in some day after the World War II, this desirable hospitality spirit
was replaced by the commercialism of travel agencies and companies and every
service in tourism came to require comparatively high expenses. Especially
during the term of rapid economy growth from 1950 to 1980, commercialism of
tourism brought about the competition of luxuries and the cost of travel became
extremely expensive in Japan not only for lodging but also for transportation.
Then the tourism became the hobby of only high or middle-income group. Mass
tourism of the people engaged in agriculture started late 1960s and became
world famous traveling group called "Nokyo-san".
Now,
the main players of tourism in Japan shifted to younger generation and aged
people. They do not like mass tourism but a personal travel. This tendency
may recall the importance of hospitality spirit again.
3.
Change of attitude of Japanese people against foreign visitors
As
Japan is located far east of Asia, it was seldom to see foreign visitors until
around 1960s. There were such stupid proposals as every guide sign could be
written in Japanese and foreign visitors should study Japanese before arriving
in the country. Japanese were also one of the worst speakers in English.
Physical
problems for foreign visitors in those days were the difficulty of communication,
traditional way of eating by chop sticks, special taste of Japanese food such
as raw fish, traditional style of toilet, traditional way of sitting on tatami
mat without any chairs, no lock on the door, and so on.
Now,
after the rapid growth of Japanese economy and the introduction of western
style public apartment in 1960s, the traditional way of Japanese people gradually
replaced by the western style such as a table and chairs, western style beds,
western style toilets, installing the locks on doors, etc. In 1970s, the abolition
of the regulation on foreign currency promoted Japanese people to travel oversea
and to notice the importance of international mutual exchange of culture and
knowledge.
In
these days, there are many shops accepting US dollars for payment and multi-language
guide signs and announcements, and almost all kinds of world food in metropolitan
areas. About 20 million Japanese, about 15% of the national population, visit
foreign countries every year in recent years. This means that there is almost
no conflict between foreigners and Japanese even in local areas.
4. Development of hospitality spirit
Everybody
feels cheerful by receiving good hospitality and likes to experience such
hospitality again. Now, what would be good hospitality? Followings are the
examples of good hospitality I have ever experienced.
(1) Human factors
・Smiling face
・Kind behavior and words
・Delicious food and drinks
・Reasonable payment
(2) Social factors
・New findings
・Safety
・Good scenery
(3) Facilities
・Comfortable
accommodations
・Cleanness
・Silence at night
・Well prepared equipments
There
may be such an opinion that the social factors and facilities are not the
sprit and only human factors should be discussed. But this opinion cannot
be agreed because we cannot be satisfied without a certain level of service
of social factors and facilities. Moreover, even social factors would be prepared
by a total effort of the region, in other words, a kind of group hospitality
spirit, and facilities would be prepared by some managers and technicians.
Hospitality would be classified into two groups, personal hospitality and
group hospitality. When the both are combined together, there would be true
growth of hospitality spirit.
Let's
turn to human aspects. The top priority of needs for a human being would be
the safety for himself and his family. The second would be the least satisfaction
for his daily life such as shelter, water, food, clothes and a little money.
It can be said that a human being requires above satisfaction before he welcomes
the visitors with his hospitality spirit. The group spirit also exists as
a total of personal hospitality spirit. This means that we need to upgrade
the daily life of the people at least to a certain level of satisfaction in
order to make them grow with hospitality sprit.
Another
aspect of human being would be the feelings or emotion. Who will willingly
serve for a person such as arrogant, proud in bad meaning, dirty or rude?
In case of commercialism, it may be necessary to endure these bad feelings,
but in the sense of hospitality, we need not to pay attention for such a person.
This means that the hospitality spirit is not one way but both way between
host and guest. Therefore, it would be needed to educate both sides not to
be arrogant, proud, dirty or rude.
5. Conclusion
Hospitality
spirit would be one of the most effective measures to realize world peace
and would be developed by following efforts.
(1)
To upgrade people's daily life to a certain level.
In Japanese saying, "Courtesy
will be driven by the least satisfaction of clothes and food" is showing
the basic idea of hospitality. If a human being do not have the least satisfaction
of clothes, food and housing, he cannot have hospitality spirit for the others.
(2)
To prepare good transportation, accommodation, information system.
Transportation, accommodation and
information systems are the fundamentals of travel and should be safe and
comfortable. As mentioned above, hospitality spirit would be grown by mutual
efforts and if these fundamentals were not prepared well, a guest would lose
his generous mind to accept the hospitality.
(3)
To promote people's interchange without crimes and thefts.
Hospitality spirit starts from the
meeting of the people by chance. The mind of caution would be the biggest
barrier for the hospitality. Mutual reliance would be developed by the frequent
interchange of people without the fear for crimes and thefts. Also Japanese
saying, "Telling a lie is the beginning of theft" was taught repeatedly
at home and in primary schools for all Japanese. Then people will gradually
open their mind for visitors and start to recognize hospitality spirit.
(4)
To educate people not to be arrogant, proud, dirty or rude.
Hospitality spirit would be staying
on the delicate balance of pride and respect. If a human being could not have
any pride of himself and if he could not have any respect for visitors, then
he may not have hospitality spirit. Arrogance, bad pride, dirtiness and rudeness
will surely break the delicate balance mentioned above.
(5)
To remove commercialism as much as possible.
Commercialism may work well for
the development of economy but disturb the sound development of hospitality
spirit. Hospitality spirit will grow only on the pure mind of human being.
Therefore, the tradition of the area, home education in infant-age and education
in primary school are the fundamentals to grow hospitality spirit. According
to the research of Hiroshi Arata in the Research Institute of M&M Strategy,
Japanese merchants studied the importance of both sides benefit, in other
words, to share the benefit between sellers and buyers, right after the corruption
of bubble economy in the beginning of 18th century. They changed the strategy
not to pursue short time big benefit but long time stable benefit.
(http://www.eco.nihon-u.ac.jp/contents/research/san/sankenkyu/sankei25/sankei25arata.pdf)
Hospitality spirit has the similar
nature and never expects the direct benefit.
(6)
To try to combine personal efforts to make up group hospitality in the region.
If the people migrate too much,
they cannot keep the hospitality mind of the area. Hospitality spirit may
grow on the ground and its root may be the history of the area. The rapid
westernization of Japan right after the Meiji Revolution and the World War
II weakened the recognition of the history of the area, but so much effort
to find out the regional history and tradition has been done in these 20 years.
This cultural renaissance may grow hospitality spirit in the area. And it
is true that the final actor or actress of hospitality is a person himself.
It is vitally important to combine the hospitality spirit of each person with
the tradition of the area. It is also important to create attractive areas
to make people stay longer in the same area.
Finally,
though the hospitality development is not so easy as mentioned here, we must
try to develop such spirit and contribute to the development of tourism and
world peace.