AI Eyes" for Inbound Travel to Japan. Cakehashi and iKala form new alliance to capture the Taiwanese market.

CAKEHASHI Corporation, a Taiwanese corporation specializing in inbound marketing to tourists visiting Japan (Head Office: Taipei; President: Kosuke Akiyama), has announced a business alliance with iKala, a Taiwanese technology company that provides the AI marketing strategy and data analysis tool "Kolr," starting in April 2025. Cakehashi and iKala, a Taiwanese technology company that provides AI marketing strategy and data analysis tool "Kolr," have announced a business alliance that will begin in April 2025.

CAKEHASHI and iKala, Taiwan, New Alliance

■Background and Purpose of the Alliance

Demand from Taiwanese visitors to Japan is recovering, and "Japan" as a travel destination is becoming increasingly popular. Meanwhile, the influence of SNS and influencers is expanding as a source of information for people considering travel, and "who communicates" has become an important key in the inbound strategies of tourist destinations, local governments, and companies.

Against this backdrop, CAKEHASHI, which has been developing inbound tourism marketing in Taiwan for 13 years, aims to provide even more accurate strategies to attract visitors by joining forces with iKala, which excels in AI marketing and data analysis.

The world's largest data of over 300 million influencers, iKala's achievements and strengths

AI analysis of 300 million voices

iKala is a leading AI tech company in Taiwan, and its AI marketing platform "Kolr" boasts the following achievements

●Kolr AI marketing database expands information to 190 countries and influencer marketing data to over 300 million, accelerating global expansion.

●Number of SNS posts analyzed per month: over 6 billion, covering real-time social data from Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X, etc.

International brand companies supported: Over 10,000 companies (many major agencies, cosmetics, health food, apparel, retail, and other industries)

One-stop service for AI marketing: integrates strategic analysis, influencer search and recommendation, and performance insights

Kolr's strength lies in data-driven influencer analysis using AI, and by analyzing over 6 billion pieces of social data per month, Kolr breaks away from the traditional "casting by feel" approach. Kolr enables optimal influencer selection based on scientific evidence, including follower attributes, affinity with past posts, and post-post spread prediction.

In addition, Kolr has an excellent competitive analysis function, allowing clients to gain a detailed understanding of what influencers their competitors are using and what kind of promotional activities they are conducting. This makes it possible to differentiate oneself from the competition and develop strategies that accurately grasp market trends.

CAKEHASHI's Strengths and Synergies

CAKEHASHI has 13 years of inbound experience in the Taiwanese market, and has continued to support the attraction of Taiwanese tourists in cooperation with tourist attractions and companies throughout Japan. We are especially valued for our local development capabilities and expertise in the following areas

Integrated support for SNS operation, promotion, and advertisement operation by local staff in Taiwan

Direct networking with Taiwanese influencers and local media

Ability to propose plans and execute measures that match the travel orientation and consumption behavior of Taiwanese people

Inbound specialists certified by the Japan Tourism Agency are on staff, enabling us to collaborate with national and local governments and provide strategic proposals.

Casting that does not rely on intuition

13 years of experience and trust in Taiwan

We will combine iKala's AI marketing data analysis capabilities with CAKEHASHI's on-the-ground sense and ability to execute,

Support for influencer-associated promotions for local governments and corporations

Strengthening strategies for creating buzz and spreading information at tourist destinations in Japan

Visualization and reporting of campaign results

Identification of rising star influencers from a vast amount of data, and highly efficient policy design and coordination.

The two companies will accelerate "results-driven" marketing support in the Taiwanese market through such measures as the following

Interview with representatives from both companies: Toward the future of inbound marketing

President of CAKEHASHI Taiwan

Interview with Kousuke Akiyama

Kousuke Akiyama, President of CAKEHASHI, has appeared as a speaker at the Inbound Market EXPO, the largest inbound exhibition in Japan, and has appeared as a travel expert on a local TV program in Taiwan. In Japan, he has appeared on "News ZERO" as a commentator from Taiwan.

He is also active as an inbound expert certified by the Japan Tourism Agency, and is attracting attention as an intermediary between the private sector and government, the field and data, sensitivity and logic.

Mr. Akiyama, crossing the field and data, sensitivity and logic

- How did the partnership start?

The situation of foreign tourists visiting Japan from Taiwan has always been an important market for Japan, and we have been facing the "real voices of Taiwanese people" in the field for 13 years. In this context, the presence of SNS and influencers has been growing year by year, and we felt the need to reach out to a segment of the population that cannot be reached by conventional measures. iKala's Kolr is a powerful weapon that can speak with "data and effectiveness" rather than just "feeling," and we decided to partner with them this time.

- What are your expectations for working with iKala?

CAKEHASHI's strength lies in its understanding of Taiwanese consumers, local contacts, and experience in the tourism industry. iKala's AI marketing and influencer analysis technology adds logic and repeatability to this. I am confident that with this tag team, we will be able to propose measures that are both "strategic and sensible" to local governments and corporations.

- What is your outlook for the future?

I believe that tourism to Japan is not just a form of leisure, but a place for cultural and spiritual exchange. We will continue to take on new challenges as a partner in bringing "the Japan I want to visit again" to the people of Taiwan.

Sega Cheng, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, iKala Co.

Mr. Sega Cheng, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, iKala Co.

- What is the background behind the partnership with CAKEHASHI?

iKala's mission is to maximize the marketing effectiveness of brands by leveraging AI technology to make influencer recommendations more accurate and efficient. We are confident that by collaborating with CAKEHASHI, a company with high credibility and influence in the tourism sector, we can together create more effective and creative integrated marketing solutions.

- How do you evaluate CAKEHASHI?

We feel that CAKEHASHI is one of the few specialized teams that can consistently execute everything from SNS operation to influencer collaboration and fam-trip planning, with its roots in Taiwan. In particular, the fact that they have experts certified by the Japan Tourism Agency was a great vote of confidence for us.

- What kind of value do you hope to create in the future?

We can use data to design influencer experiences that deliver excitement, and by crossing this with CAKEHASHI's real-world on-site capabilities, we hope to bring the attractions of various regions of Japan to Taiwan in greater depth and to a wider audience.

■About our partner "iKala

iKala is a global company that provides AI transformation solutions. With "AI Empowerment" as its mission, iKala helps companies achieve business transformation, accelerate growth, and create new business models with AI at the core. iKala provides AI-driven cloud services and marketing technology that help companies optimize operational efficiency and enhance customer communication. iKala is a customer-centric company that continuously improves the quality of its services and invests in innovative research and development to create more value for its customers. iKala is a leading provider of AI-driven cloud services and marketing technology that help companies optimize their operational efficiency and enhance customer communications. iKala is committed to creating more value for its customers by continuously improving the quality of its services and investing in innovative research and development.

For more information, please visit iKala's official website: https://ikala.ai/zh-tw/

Kolr AI marketing platform: https://www.kolr.ai/