Co-creation with Cross-Railway Consortium JTOS Involving Four Railway Companies

Pets Alright Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Hitoshi Kobayakawa), which operates the pet outing support app 'Wan!Pass', announces that it has been selected as a co-creation enterprise by the 'Cross-Railway Social Implementation Consortium (JTOS)'. JTOS consists of four companies: JR East Startup Co., Ltd. (a CVC promoting investment and collaboration with ventures under the East Japan Railway Company group), Tokyu Corporation, Odakyu Electric Railway Co., Ltd., and Seibu Holdings Inc.

Moving forward, the app 'Wan!Pass' operated by our company and 'JTOS' will collaborate. Starting with a demonstration experiment in the Hakone area, we will support the creation of tourist destinations that pet owners and their families can enjoy, and promote pet tourism.

Background and Challenges In recent years, the value of viewing pets as family members has spread, and the number of people actively enjoying travel and outings with their dogs has increased, making pet tourism draw attention as a form of regional revitalization.

However, there are barriers such as 'not knowing which facilities allow pets,' 'anxiety due to different acceptance rules at each facility,' and 'worrying about causing trouble to others.' On the other hand, from the perspective of the facilities, while there is a regional demand for pet tourism, the reality is that the acceptance environment is not fully prepared due to 'operational anxieties regarding pet acceptance' and 'the need for consideration among users.'

Therefore, to solve these challenges, we will test the possibilities of creating a pet-friendly tourist destination. We will use Hakone as a model case—one of Japan's leading tourist destinations visited by about 20 million people annually, featuring diverse tourism resources such as hot springs, nature, and art museums, and being easily accessible from the Tokyo metropolitan area—by collaborating 'Wan!Pass' with the hotels and tourist facilities of the Odakyu and Seibu groups.

Objectives Aiming to promote pet tourism in the Hakone area, we will achieve the following by expanding the recognition and use of the pet outing support app 'Wan!Pass':

- Providing tourism experiences that pets and families can enjoy - Expanding tourist spots and accepting facilities

Specifically, in 'securing transportation and accommodation facilities with pets,' which had been a bottleneck for our company when promoting pet tourism on our own, the railways and accommodation facilities of 'JTOS'