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Research paper : Evaluating the effects of actions taken to attract visitors to sightseeing areas (Y. Yamamoto)−198−Synthesiology - English edition Vol.5 No.3 (2012) well as the total sales amount in Kinosaki. In addition, a system was constructed to discuss items on the mailing list. The event evaluation mentioned in subchapter 4.4 was pointed out by a hotel owner on the mailing list. He commented, “My hotel had eleven credit payments yesterday, amounting to 21,625 Japanese yen. Eleven credit payments were the largest ever. Credit payments in the area were also the largest. Though the number of guests at Bon time (religious ceremony celebrated in summer) was larger, there were more credit payments at the time of Toronagashi. This data suggest that many people enjoyed walking at Toronagashi” (extracted from an e-mail received from a hotel owner on August 26). It is presumed that this owner first noticed the large number of credit payments by guests of his hotel and then noticed that the entire area had the same experience. It then reminded him of the effect the event had on credit payments. In order to encourage the people involved to remain aware, it is meaningful to review data daily. The impression that “something is different today” will instantly fade away. Therefore, minor changes will not be noticed if reviewing the data is troublesome. In order to accelerate the awareness of people concerned, one measure is to reduce the cost for checking data like that used in this project in data push style. Another option is to arrange the data so that shop and hotel owners want to check them (for instance, a graph showing the sales amount of the hotels and shops in the same business). Apart from the measure to increase the opportunity to review data, it is important to arrange data in a way that will encourage awareness. Local business operators are clearly aware of what occurred on that day; however, they sometimes do not pay attention to changes that occur over the mid- and long-term. Therefore, it is effective to present a graph on a monthly or annual basis. At 7-Eleven stores, POS data is provided on a graphic terminal so that the shop owner may make use of this data.[8] Differing from 7-Eleven, data from the entire area does not have a direct impact on each hotel and shop. However, providing chronological changes of the area on a graphic mode will help people understand signs of real changes. 5.4 Local project implementation structurePresence of the key personThough local people at Kinosaki had no prior opportunities to work with engineers on a joint project, we could conduct demonstration experiments, which led to continued operation. This owes much to the presence of the key persons who have actively cooperated with us. Key persons in this sense refer to those persons who have strongly influenced the decisions made in the area. In Kinosaki, fortunately, several key persons recognized the value of this project, talked about the needs in a constructive manner, tried to understand the technology, and took on the practical work of consensus building. Since consensus building is a time- and cost-consuming task in the open service field, the presence of key persons is essential for joint project implementation. Increase in the number of people involvedThe presence of a key person does not necessarily mean that consensus building will be easy in the area. It is important that the key person receives broad support. Hence, meetings were frequently held for local coordination. Here, we would like to point out the significance of the interactions mentioned in subchapter 5.2, in which users generated ideas that were put into operation. The repetition of the above work in a short period of time contributed much to users being able to recognize that their ideas were reflected upon and incorporated into the system. Recognition widely spread that not only people who had offered ideas but other people were taking initiatives to create projects as well. This has led to the commitment (involvement) of many people. Another factor contributed to a large commitment (involvement) of the people. People were bestowed with the task of naming the system. The unique name “Yumepa,” which is the “Kinosaki spa-tour pass,” spread quickly and became popular. Scientific causal connection is not clear at this stage; however, it is presumed that bestowing naming rights evokes recognition of their initiatives.Creating an administrative organizationCreating the structure to implement the project on a long-term basis was one of the major points of controversy. The project requires the consensus of the entire area. However, in Kinosaki, there were industry-classified associations only, and no adequate organization was found for the discussion of the OSF-POS system. The out-spa ticket issue was in the hands of the property ward assembly. The credit payment issue was in the hands of the commerce and industry association. The operational initiative of the project was separated. Then, Kinosaki set up a decision-making body consisting of representatives from all of the industry-classified associations in the area. This new organization functions as the center of discussions of business that affects the entire area, as well as as a responsible body for the continued operation of the OSF-POS system. It is essential to define the body responsible for guaranteed operation in the future. 6 ConclusionIn order to introduce the optimum design loop for service quality improvements in sightseeing areas, it is necessary

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