Japan's First: Small-Scale Demonstration Begins for a Travel Product Model Connecting RV Rentals and "Kurumahaku" (Car Stay) Facilities

New travel options have emerged for enjoying Kyushu. The Kyushu Regional Tourism Revitalization Consortium (representative organization: Trust Park Co., Ltd.) has partnered with Kei Journey, a light campervan rental specialist in Saga City, and Ogita Commercial Architectural Design Office Co., Ltd.'s "Itoshima Kitchen Palette" to begin a demonstration of a new service combining light campervans and the car stay spot "RV Park smart Itoshima Kitchen Palette".

This demonstration is a groundbreaking initiative in Japan that integrates travel by "light campervan" with the car stay experience at "Itoshima Kitchen Palette." The objective is to establish a new tour tourism model and RV travel product that provides "movement," "stay," and "experience" in a one-stop manner, which were previously fragmented. By transforming "moving" itself into travel value and integrating "movement, stay, and experience," the aim is to implement a stay-type tour experience model.

### Background of the Demonstration

In recent years, issues such as soaring accommodation costs, difficulty in making reservations, and overcrowding at tourist destinations have become apparent. On the other hand, while campervan travel is attracting attention, it remains a high hurdle for beginners due to concerns about driving and equipment, the difficulty in finding car stay spots, and the time and effort required for planning and arrangements, thus hindering its widespread adoption. Additionally, conventional RV park facilities often have restrictions on reception and check-in times, which can limit the flexibility of travel itineraries. To address these challenges, Trust Park, which provides car stay services, has partnered with Kei Journey, which started a light campervan rental business in Saga City, and Itoshima Kitchen Palette to undertake this service demonstration.

### Overview of the Demonstration Service

This demonstration will combine light campervans from Saga City with car stay plans in Itoshima City to verify its potential as an RV travel product that even beginners can easily use. The service will establish a system for booking both a rental car and a car stay location together, and unmanned check-in will enable flexible itinerary planning without being tied to arrival times. Furthermore, by combining it with local experiences such as sightseeing, gourmet food, and saunas, the aim is to create regional experience value that goes beyond mere movement and stay. Concurrently, the demonstration will verify the effectiveness of this model in creating new accommodation infrastructure in the region by utilizing existing parking spaces and idle spaces.

### Expected Effects of this Demonstration

This demonstration aims to create new value for travelers, regional businesses, and local communities by integrating travel by light campervan, stay at car stay bases, and local experiences.

- **Freedom from time constraints**: Unmanned check-in and the nature of car stays allow for flexible travel tailored to the user's pace, such as late-night arrivals and early-morning departures, realizing "travel without time constraints." - **Easy-to-start mobility for beginners**: Light campervans are easy to handle and can be driven with a familiar sense of operation, lowering the psychological barrier to using campervans and contributing to the expansion of travel styles. - **Decentralization of tourism and promotion of circulation**: A mobile-type stay style that does not depend on accommodation facilities will alleviate concentration in urban areas and promote circulation between regions. - **Revitalization of regional stays**: By using car stay bases as hubs, "stay-type touring" that allows enjoyment of surrounding sightseeing, food, and activities will be realized, creating deeper regional travel experiences. - **Resolution of accommodation shortages and utilization of regional resources**: By utilizing existing parking spaces and idle spaces at tourist facilities, accommodation functions can be expanded at low cost, addressing accommodation shortages during peak seasons and effectively utilizing regional resources. - **Enhancement of travel experience**: By integrating movement, stay, and experience, it will be contentized as RV travel, creating high value-added regional stays. - **Potential as disaster prevention infrastructure**: Utilizing the car stay function, it is also expected to be used as a means of dispersed evacuation in the event of a disaster.

### Future Developments

This demonstration will start with a small set product connecting Kei Journey, a light campervan rental specialist in Saga City, and RV Park smart Itoshima Kitchen Palette in Itoshima City, Fukuoka Prefecture. Moving forward, this initiative will serve as a model case to expand collaborations with travel agencies, tourism associations, local governments, and regional DMOs in various locations. By combining RV rental businesses in each region with nearby car stay facilities, hot spring facilities, restaurants, and tourism experiences, the aim is to create unique RV travel products specific to each region and travel products as "furusato nozei" (hometown tax) return gifts.

This will enable regions with few accommodation facilities or regions wishing to extend stay times to accommodate travelers smoothly by utilizing existing parking spaces and private facilities. Through this demonstration, the Kyushu Regional Tourism Revitalization Consortium will verify booking channels, sales methods, user needs, and promote the establishment of an RV travel product model that can be easily deployed in various regions.