The implementation of national travel assistance has brought renewed attention to domestic travel.
JAL, which has bases throughout Japan, has been continuously implementing regional revitalization initiatives (currently the “JAL Furusato Project”). In August 2020, JAL launched the “JAL Furusato Ambassadors,” cabin crew members selected through an in-house recruitment process, who settle in local communities to promote regional initiatives. In December of the same year, JAL appointed “JAL hometown supporters,” who are involved in regional revitalization while serving as flight attendants. The aim is to develop products and solve regional issues for hometowns and other regions with which they have connections, utilizing the knowledge they have accumulated as flight attendants.
We spoke with Sayaka Tsunematsu, a JAL Furusato Ambassador from Kumamoto Prefecture who participated in the environmental conservation tour.
–What can you tell us about your initiatives?
JAC/JAL is planning to market a product called “Environmental Conservation Tour” that aims to both preserve the environment of the Amami Islands and promote visitor attraction. In order to let more people know about the attractiveness of the tour, JAC cabin crew, JAL hometown ambassadors and JAL hometown support team (Kagoshima prefecture staff and several staff from other prefectures) JAC flight attendants, JAL hometown ambassadors, and JAL hometown support team members (one from Kagoshima and several from other prefectures) participated in a monitoring tour to experience the tour.
Environmental conservation tours are designed to learn about the attractions and challenges of the target area, and to learn about and gain hands-on experience with the world’s goal of environmental protection through the island’s garbage problem and the efforts of local people.
–How are you involved in this effort?
This time, we stayed on Kikai Island, one of the Amami Islands, for two days and experienced beach cleanup activities and Earthing Yoga, in addition to sightseeing on the island.
The beach cleanup activities included the use of JAC’s original beach cleanup kits, which included bamboo tongs and biomass plastic bags, to pick up trash along the beach. We were surprised to find litter from daily life, items that had drifted ashore from overseas, and even needles and other items that are dangerous to marine life and humans if touched, all of which had fallen onto the beach.
Looking at the clean beach through the beach cleanup activities, I could once again appreciate the natural beauty and charm of Kikai Island, and I became even more aware of environmental conservation activities and wanted to continue to protect this beauty in the future.
–What are your future plans and prospects?
This tour is scheduled to be conducted this year on the World Natural Heritage-listed islands of Yakushima, Amami Oshima, and Tokunoshima, as well as on the Amami Islands, which are JAC’s service areas. We hope that you will visit these islands on JAC’s low CO2 emission ATR turbo-loop aircraft, and we hope that the entire tour will raise your awareness of environmental conservation. We also hope that you will experience the nature and culture that the Amami Islands have to offer and visit the islands again.
–What is your message to travelers?
Kikai Island is said to be an island formed by the uplift of coral reefs, and a coral reef culture has taken root on the island, where people live together with beautiful coral reefs spreading all over the sea. Kikai Island is also home to a unique culture of coral reefs, with activities that can only be experienced here, magnificent scenery, and pristine nature. In addition to such sightseeing, nature, and culture, we hope that by spending time to confront environmental issues through beach cleanup activities, you will feel the value and charm of nature even more.
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