TOKYO -- One district in this city is relying on international star power to revitalize local industry.
High-profile visitors from Thailand are being recruited by Taito Ward to visit manufacturing sites and other places, then broadcast their experiences through photos and social media outlets. The idea is to generate greater demand for products manufactured in the area.
Three Thai actresses and models in their 20s visited five locations in Taito for three days beginning Jan. 17, making Facebook and Instagram postings along the way. Each site averaged about five postings per woman.
Businesses welcoming the trio include a stationery seller, a bag maker and a health-equipment company. Products and the accompanying photos from the project will be displayed at a Bangkok department store starting Feb. 13.
"We would like [tourists] to not only make purchases while they are here, but to also shop on the internet when they return to their home countries," said a representative of the ward's industrial development group.
(Nikkei)
