Pikmin Drives Taiwanese Tourists to Hiroshima; Bookings Up 1.8 Times

Central News Agency, Taipei, 24th. With the summer travel peak approaching, according to statistics from booking platforms, the total transaction volume in April this year increased by more than 1.6 times year-on-year. Among them, Hiroshima, Japan, has driven the willingness of Taiwanese tourists to visit because it has the only Pikmin park in Japan, with bookings increasing by 1.8 times compared to the same period last year. The mobile game 'Pikmin Bloom' has recently caused a whirlwind in Taiwan, not only driving tourists to walk and travel in Chiayi but also changing the destination choices of Taiwanese tourists traveling to Japan. Travel agency Rakuten Travel released a press release stating that according to the latest statistics, the total transaction volume in April this year increased by more than 1.6 times year-on-year, showing a strong demand for tourists to lock in bookings for the summer vacation. Among them, the Hiroshima area is one of the fastest-rising dark horses in this wave of popularity. Rakuten Travel stated that according to the latest internal booking data, Hiroshima's ranking in the popularity list of prefectures for Taiwanese tourists has jumped 8 places in just one month, and the number of orders for Taiwanese tourists to Hiroshima in April showed a brilliant growth, an increase of more than 1.8 times compared to the same period last year. Chen Chung-hao, General Manager of Rakuten Travel Taiwan, said that observing the booking data from the Taiwan market, second and third-tier regions in Japan such as Tottori, Niigata, Mie, and Hiroshima have all seen amazing growth; among them, Hiroshima is re-entering the traveler's field of vision with a completely different look, not only catching up with the Pikmin trend that Taiwanese people are most fascinated by, but also the brand new 'loop line' of the Hiroshima Electric Railway, which has been absent for 23 years, has recently officially opened. Rakuten Travel pointed out that the 'Pikmin Terrace in Miyajima SA' located in Hiroshima was reopened after renovation in May this year and is expected to become one of the must-visit attractions in the minds of Taiwanese tourists.