Japan Municipal DX Promotion Council to Host Online Seminars on Tourism DX and Regional Population Creation on May 27

The Japan Municipal DX Promotion Council (GDX), based in Minato-ku, Tokyo, announced that it will host two online seminars on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, targeting municipal, tourism association, DMO, and regional development personnel.

The two sessions will be held via Zoom, free of charge, with advance registration required. The first, from 10:00 to 11:00, is titled "Shall We Stop Building Tourism Apps? A Seminar on Utilizing 'Spot AI (ToyTalk)' to Solve Tourism and Regional Issues." The second, from 14:00 to 15:30, is the kickoff session of the new series "Relationship Population Lab #0: What Exactly is 'Relationship Population'?"

Both seminars will utilize findings from GDX's "City Promotion and Tourism DX Fact-Finding Survey" of 273 organizations nationwide, and a survey conducted on behalf of International University of Japan's GLOCOM on "Digitization and Migration Promotion Policies" among 473 municipalities, to discuss structural challenges and concrete solutions.

Background: Connecting Tourism DX and Relationship Population in One Day

Surveys conducted by GDX have identified shared structural challenges in municipal and regional operations.

Key Findings from the City Promotion and Tourism DX Survey: - About 49% of tourism DX managers hold dual roles. - Most budgets are under 5 million yen. - Approximately 70% of DMOs struggle with continuous SNS operations.

Key Findings from the Municipal Survey on Digitization and Migration Promotion: - 65.7% of municipalities implement relationship population creation policies, with 81.4% feeling successful. - 68.3% evaluate the "Hometown Resident Registration System" positively. - Interest in DX for migration promotion is 83.1%, but implementation is only 48.8% (highlighting a gap).

GDX aims to provide a space where practitioners can connect these topics, moving beyond theory to actionable strategies.

Seminar Overview: 1. Shall We Stop Building Tourism Apps? (10:00 - 11:00, May 27): Explains why tourism apps often fail to be maintained and introduces case studies of AI usage that require no app development. 2. Relationship Population Lab #0: What Exactly is 'Relationship Population'? (14:00 - 15:30, May 27): Kickoff session for the new series,整理ing current research and policy trends. Instructor: Masato Ito of IUJ GLOCOM.