All 6 new directors were approved and will join the team!

The NPB Annual General Meeting for FY2017 took place on Thursday, 31 May, from 10am at the Hotel Niseko Alpen. A majority of members (130 including proxies) were present. The meeting agenda included the report of FY 2017 activities and audits, FY 2018 activity plan and budget, and appointment of directors.

All items on the agenda was approved by members. The NPB team is very excited to continue promoting the Niseko area along with our directors and members. The Representative Directors will be Mr. Ross Findlay and Mr. Yoshinao Kamae. The Executive Director will be Mr. Yoshihito Tanaka. Please click here to see who the 6 new directors are. Here is a great speech given by Kristian Lund from Niseko Media K.K. during the meeting:

Hi everyone,

I’m honoured to have been invited here today with the opportunity to join the board of the NPB. I’m confident that together we can guide not just our tourism promotion, but ensure a better future for the entire Niseko area.

Niseko is riding a wave of success and popularity at the moment. But as we all know, sometimes the good times don’t last forever. After the ski boom of the 1980s, very few ski resorts across Japan have recovered to their former glory. Fortunately for us, Niseko has recovered and is now leading the way in the revitalisation of Japan’s ski tourism industry.

The benefits of this to the local people can be seen everywhere you look – we’ve got cash flowing into the local economy, and off the back of that, growing population, employment and business opportunities. Essentially the quality of life for local residents is improving unlike many other towns across Hokkaido. However, we all know there have been speed bumps that have greatly affected tourism over the past decade.

The Kutchan/Niseko community is now dependent on the tourism economy, so the NPB and other tourism organisations have a very important job – our families and fellow citizens are relying on these organisations to plan for the future.

So that’s why I’m here today – I’m passionate about Niseko and its future. Until recently I considered Niseko my second home. Now it’s just my home.

I’m really excited for the opportunity to work with the NPB to help plan for the future for all of us here and everyone living in the area.