On July 4th, the Osaka Prefecture Association of Travel Agents (OATA, President Tokuhara Masakazu, Osaka International Travel) and the OATA Liaison Council (President Ando Motokazu, Ando Reservation Center), organized by the receiving organizations, held the "2018 OATA Summer Beer Party" at the Sheraton Miyako Hotel Osaka in Tennoji Ward, Osaka City. About 300 people attended the annual party. Chairman Ando called out, "Today, I want you to drink and talk a lot and blow away the heat. We will also hold the traditional lottery, so please have a good time." Chairman Tokuhara said, "We are working on increasing the number of new members, which is the most important thing to revitalize OATA, as our top priority. At the general meeting in March, there were 108 companies, but as of today, there are 112 companies. We are currently in the process of discussing multiple memberships, and things are going well," emphasizing that the increase in members is steadily progressing toward building a more trustworthy OATA. Chairman Tokuhara also reported that the charter boat for the Osaka Tenjin Festival "Funatogyo," OATA's flagship event, "sold out early this year on June 22, and we are currently preparing for the actual day on July 25." Chairman Tokuhara then introduced Director Hamauzu Tatsuya of the Kochi Prefecture Osaka Office, saying, "We appreciate your ongoing understanding and cooperation with OATA." Director Hamauzu took to the stage and expressed his gratitude, saying, "Last year, 4.4 million visitors came to Kochi Prefecture, and tourism spending reached a record high of 112.6 billion yen. This is also the result of the support of everyone gathered here today." He then asked, "The Kochi Prefectural Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum opened in April this year, and the second act of the Bakumatsu Ishin Expo has begun, and has been well received. Starting next February, we will also be promoting tourism through outdoor sports, so we would like to ask for your continued support and support for Kochi Prefecture." The party started with a toast led by Vice Chairman Maeda Eiji (Osaka Daiei Travel). The excitement was fuelled by a big raffle where guests could win accommodation vouchers and other prizes. A local information booth was set up in the reception lobby of the venue, where nine organisations, two more than last year, appealed to OATA members for the latest tourism information and upcoming events. The nine organisations were the Ishikawa Prefecture Tourism Association, Wakayama Prefecture Aoi-kai, Yamaguchi Prefecture Tourism Federation, Tottori Prefecture Hakuto-kai, Kagawa Prefecture Kanko-kai, Fukui Prefecture Osaka Office, Kochi Prefecture Osaka Office, Gunma Prefecture Osaka Office and the China National Tourism Administration Representative Office in Osaka.