The joint general meeting of the Ishikawa Prefecture Travel Industry Association Kyoeikai (Chairman Oda Takanobu, Kagaya) and the Fukui Prefecture Travel Industry Association Kyoeikai (Chairman Ito Kazuyuki, Matsuya Chichi) was held recently in Mimatsu, Awara Onsen, Fukui Prefecture. 190 people attended. At the general meeting, both Ishikawa Travel Industry Association and Fukui Travel Industry Association Kyoeikai decided to promote the increase of members, concentrate on sending customers to host members, distribute pamphlets and information promotion for host members, and exchange information. Chairman Oda reported that the effect of the Hokuriku Shinkansen is approaching the figures before the opening of the Shinkansen. He introduced the fact that inbound reception has been improved, including the fact that many tourists were welcomed by chartered planes from Thailand. In the election of officers due to the expiration of their terms, Chairman Oda became an advisor and elected Masayuki Mantani (Ruriko) as the new chairman. Advisor Oda expressed his gratitude for being able to fulfill his important duties, saying, "I have served as chairman for a very long period of time, six terms, 12 years. Thank you for your support." In response, Chairman Mantani said, "I am not very knowledgeable, but I would like to do my best with the guidance and encouragement of all the members," and took over the baton from Chairman Oda. Chairman Ito said, "2017 was a tough year for the tourism industry, with record-breaking heavy rains and natural disasters, just like the previous year. Although the effect of the Hokuriku Shinkansen has subsided, the number of inbound tourists has increased and the area has become lively," and expressed his intention to work on human resource development and productivity improvement at inns, and to improve the working environment. According to the annual report of the number of guests sent to inns by region (October 2016 to September 2017), the total number of guests sent to inns by Ishigaki Tabi Kyokai was 297,503, and that of Fuku Tabi Kyokai was 237,132. After the general meeting, Keiichiro Yamada, representative of the Swiss Japanese Information Center and senior researcher at the Institute for Urban Development and Tourism, gave a lecture titled "What is a region that continues to be chosen?" Yamada pointed out that "areas that rely solely on intuition and experience will not grow," and "people will not come to areas that lack reality, such as B-grade gourmet food that locals don't eat, or ski resorts where locals don't ski." He called out, "Initiatives that do not involve local people are meaningless. I expect everyone to get the community involved and create something authentic."