#Japan #Yokohama #JTB #NICE #notabi

Building a Sustainable Volunteer Tourism Model

In a proactive effort to revitalize local communities in Japan, JTB Corporation, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and the NPO NICE (Japan International Work Camp Center), based in Yokohama, Kanagawa, have embarked on an innovative initiative to share the experiences of volunteers. This partnership leverages JTB's travel record application, notabi, to connect domestic and international volunteer activities, showcasing these experiences as travel records to enhance community appeal. The aim is to create a visual narrative of local attractions through the eyes of volunteer participants, facilitating recognition among travelers and promoting regional vitality and sustainable development.

Background and Challenges

Japan faces an urgent need for local revitalization due to the ongoing decline in birth rates and an aging population. Often, the charm and value of a region go unnoticed by local residents who may be too familiar with their surroundings. There is a pressing demand for fresh perspectives from outsiders to rediscover and highlight these hidden gems. Established in 1990, NICE has developed various volunteer activities both in Japan and abroad, addressing diverse regional issues while uncovering the understated beauty through cultural and natural experiences. However, an ongoing challenge has been the lack of adequate recording and sharing of these discovered local charms, leaving significant stories and impressions limited to personal memories.

Overview of the Initiative

The initiative will utilize JTB’s notabi app as a platform for recording and sharing volunteer experiences conducted by NICE, both domestically and internationally. Volunteers participating in these activities will document their experiences in real-time through the app, sharing photos and personal narratives that effectively communicate the allure of their regions. This transformation enables valuable local insights, once limited to individual memory, to be shared widely among a diverse community of travel enthusiasts on the notabi platform.

Significance and Contributions of JTB

JTB intends to harness its extensive knowledge and expertise to develop a system where data collected from volunteer experiences in notabi can inform travel product development and regional promotion strategies. By recording and sharing volunteer activities through the app, JTB promotes these as map-marked recommendations and travel highlights, stimulating interest among users and creating a virtuous cycle for new volunteer participation. This initiative aims to achieve sustainable regional revitalization through the promotion of international mutual understanding fostered by volunteer activities, ensuring ongoing engagement between volunteers and local communities.

Supporting the International Volunteer Awards 2025

The International Volunteer Awards is a significant annual event organized by NICE, serving as a platform for participants to share their experiences and achievements in international volunteer activities. Award recipients are chosen through a public voting system. Since its inception in 2012, the event has expanded to include not only the traditional 'Project' and 'Volunteer' categories but also a newly introduced 'notabi' category for the 2025 awards. Participants, including former volunteers, will have the chance to submit local discoveries made during their NICE experiences on notabi, with winners being recognized based on their contributions.

Event Details:

• - East Japan Tournament (Yokohama): October 19
• - Central Japan Tournament (Nagoya): October 25
• - West Japan Tournament (Osaka): November 2
• - South Japan Tournament (Fukuoka): November 8
• - National Final Tournament (Tokyo): December 21

Organizer: NICE (Japan International Work Camp Center)

About notabi

notabi is a travel album creation and sharing application provided by JTB, designed to allow users to reflect on and share their travel memories based on their interests and hobbies. The app automatically generates travel albums using photos stored on smartphones, utilizing geolocation data. This unique feature enables users to preserve personal travel records and connect with like-minded individuals within the notabi community.

About NICE

Established in 1990, NICE is an international volunteer NGO with approximately 19,000 members (as of September 2025), based in Yokohama, Kanagawa. It is the only organization in Japan (excluding branches of international NGOs) that is a member of the UN-CCIVS, and it appointed its first representative in East Asia in 2004. NICE helped create the NVDA, an international volunteer network in Asia, and operates within one of the world’s leading networks of international volunteers. Over 80,000 volunteers and over one million local residents have participated in NICE activities over the past 35 years, promoting vibrant co-existence among diverse ecosystems, cultures, and identities in a friendly global society.

For further inquiries, please contact:
JTB Area Solution Division
Email: [email protected]