Challenges for the International Tourism Industry in Japan – An Agent for Economic Recovery and Development

Authors

  • Rong Zhang Nishinippon Institute of Technology - Kitakyushu, Fukuoka
  • Dennis C. McCornac Loyola University Maryland – Baltimore

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2036-5195/4776

Keywords:

International tourism, Economic recovery, Economic development, Japan, Olympic Games

Abstract

Japan’s successful bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo is expected to bring a windfall to the tourism industry with an increasing number of visitors coming from abroad. Taking advantage of this opportunity to develop the newly-emerging tourism industry will be major task, but one that can significantly impact the future development of the country. The purpose of this paper is to undertake a review of the current situation of international tourism in Japan and examine the problems which may limit the international competitiveness of Japan’s tourism industry. We offer a number of solutions on how to improve tourism quality to better address the expectations of foreign visitors and for Japan to meet the goals of the Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Law (Act No.117 of 2006) which defines the basic plan for “Realizing a Tourism Nation”.

References

Amuquandoh, F. E. (2011). International tourists' concerns about traditional foods in Ghana. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 18, 1-9.

Aoki, M. (2012, February 7). Bubble ear’s aviation legacy: Too many airports, all ailing. The Japan Times. Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/02/07/reference/bubble-eras-aviation-legacy-too-many-airports-all-ailing/#.Uzuo7rmKCbs

Aoki, M. (2013, June 26). Relaxed visa program for Southeast Asian visitors starts. The Japan Times. Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/06/26/national/relaxed-visa-program-for-southeast-asian-visitors-starts

Baade, R. and Matheson, V. (2002). Bidding for the Olympics: Fool’s gold? In Barros, C., Ibrahimo, M. and Szymanski , S. (Eds.), Transatlantic sport: The comparative economics of North America and European sports (pp.127-151). London, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Baumann, R., Engelhardt, B. and Matheson, V. (2010). The labor market effects of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Working Paper Series International Association of Sports Economists.

Billings, S. and Holladay, J. (2012). Should cities go for the gold? The long-term impacts of hosting the Olympics, Economic Inquiry, 50, 754–772.

Bond, N. and Falk, J. (2013). Tourism and identity-related motivations: Why am I here (and not there)? International Journal of Tourism Research, 15, 430–442.

Botterill, D. (1989). Humanistic tourism? Personal constructions of a tourist: Sam visits Japan. Leisure Studies, 8, 281-293.

Briedenhann, J. and Wickens, E., 2004. Tourism routes as a tool for the economic development of rural areas – vibrant hope or impossible dream? Tourism Management, 25, 71-79.

Carey, S., Davidson, L. and Sahli, M. (2013). Capital city museums and tourism flows: An empirical study of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. International Journal of Tourism Research, 15, 554–569.

Carlisle, S., Kunc, M., Jones, E. and Tiffin, S. (2013). Supporting innovation for tourism development through multi-stakeholder approaches: Experiences from Africa. Tourism Management, 35, 59-69.

Ching-chi, C. L. and Si, C. W. (2010). Hotel occupancy rate in a gambling destination: A longitudinal study of the Macao hotel industry 2004–2007. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 17, 34-43.

Connell, J. (2006). Medical tourism: Sea, sun, sand and … surgery. Tourism Management, 27, 1093-1100.

Coulson, A. B., MacLaren, A. C., McKenzie, S. and O'Gorman, K. D. (2014). Hospitality codes and social exchange theory: The Pashtunwali and tourism in Afghanistan, Tourism Management, 45, 134-141.

Cristea, A. D. (2011). Buyer-seller relationships in international trade: Evidence from U.S. States’ exports and business-class travel. Journal of International Economics, 84, 207–220.

Dayrit, T. (2014, April 15). Japan “makes arrangements” to waive tourist visa for Pinoys, Kicker Daily News. Retrieved from http://kickerdaily.com/japan-makes-arrangements-to-waive-tourist-visa-for-pinoys

Garst, W. (2014, February 25). HK anti-tourist protest good for no one. China Daily. Retrieved from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2014-02/25/content_17304027.htm

Gibson, H. (1998). Sport tourism: A critical analysis of research. Sport Management Review, 1, pp. 45–76.

Gordenker, A. (2014, May 19). Shocking baths of Japan. The Japan Times. Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/05/19/reference/shocking-baths-japan

Hiwasaki, L. (2006). Community-based tourism: A pathway to sustainability for Japan’s protected areas. Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal, 19, 675-692.

Hogg, G., Liao, M. and O'Gorman, K. (2014). Reading between the lines: Multidimensional translation in tourism consumption. Tourism Management, 42, 157-164.

Hovhannisyan, N. and Keller, W. (2011). International business travel: An engine of Innovation? NBER Working Paper Series, No. 17100.

Japan National Tourism Organization. (2014). Press release -- Number of visitors to Japan. Retrievedfrom http://www.jnto.go.jp/jpn/news/data_info_listing/pdf/pdf/131023_monthly.pdf

Japan Tourism Marketing Co. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.tourism.jp/en/statistics/inbound

Kasimatia, E. and Dawson, P. (2009). Assessing the impact of the 2004 Olympic Games on the Greek economy: A small macroeconometric model. Economic Modelling, 26, 139–146.

Khaksari, A., Lee, T. J. and Lee, C. (2014). Religious perceptions and hegemony on tourism development: The case of the Islamic Republic of Iran. International Journal of Tourism Research, 16, 97-103.

Kirillova, K., Fu, X., Lehto, X. and Cai, L. (2014). What makes a destination beautiful? Dimensions of tourist aesthetic judgment. Tourism Management, 42, 282-293.

Kulendran, N. and Wilson, K. (2000). Is there a relationship between international trade and international travel? Applied Economics, 32, 1001–1009.

Liu, J. and Tsaur, S. (2014). We are in the same boat: Tourist citizenship behaviors. Tourism Management, 42, 88-100.

Matheson, C. M., Rimmer, R. and Tinsley, R. (2014). Spiritual attitudes and visitor motivations at the Beltane fire festival, Edinburgh. Tourism Management, 44, 16-33.

McCurry, J. (2008). Japanese hoteliers turn backs on foreign tourists. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/oct/10/japan-japan

Mehrotra, A. (2012). To host or not to host? A comparison study on the long-run impact of the Olympic Games. Michigan Journal of Business, 5, 61-92.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). (2013a). The tourism nation promotion basic plan, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/en/kankorikkoku/kihonkeikaku.html

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). (2013b). White paper on tourism in 2012. Retrieved from http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/000221177.pdf

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). 2014. White paper on tourism in Japan – the tourism situation in FY2012. Retrieved from http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001018364.pdf

Mitchell, J. and Ashley, C. (2006). Tourism business and the local economy: Increasing impact through a Linkages approach. ODI Briefing Paper. Retrieved from http://www.odi.org.uk/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/2592.pdf

Moghimehfar, F. and Nasr-Esfahani, M. H. (2011). Decisive factors in medical tourism destination choice: A case study of Isfahan, Iran and fertility treatments. Tourism Management, 32, 1431-1434.

Morse, J. (2001). The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games: How the Australian tourist commission leveraged the Games for tourism. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 7, pp. 101-107.

Northwest Territories – Industry, Tourism and Investment. (2014). Tourism 2015, a Discussion Paper. Retrieved from http://www.iti.gov.nt.ca/sites/default/files/Tourism2015IndustryConsultationPaper.pdf

Packer, J., Ballantyne, R. and Hughes, K. (2014). Chinese and Australian tourists' attitudes to nature, animals and environmental issues: Implications for the design of nature-based tourism experiences. Tourism Management, 44, 101-107.

Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet. (2014). Outline of the report (main text) by the Japan Tourism Advisory Council. Retrieved from http://japan.kantei.go.jp/policy/kankou/houkoku_s_e.html

Schubert, F. S., Brida, J. G. and Risso, W. A. (2011). The impacts of international tourism demand on economic growth of small economies dependent on tourism. Tourism Management, 32, 377-385.

Shan, J. and Wilson, K. (2001). Causality between trade and tourism: Empirical evidence from China. Applied Economics Letters, 8, 279–283.

Shankman, S. (2014). 15 countries with biggest gains in tourism receipts in 2013. Skift. Retrieved from http://skift.com/2014/01/20/15-countries-with-biggest-gains-in-tourism-receipts-in-2013

Song, W. (2010). Impacts of Olympics on exports and tourism. Journal of Economic Development, 35, 93-110.

South China Morning Post (2014, April 15). Anti-Chinese feelings in Thailand high as influx of tourists angers locals. Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1483307/anti-chinese-feelings-thailand-high-influx-tourists-angers-locals?page=all

Su, B. (2011). Rural tourism in China. Tourism Management, 32, 1438-1441.

Su, B. (2013). Developing rural tourism: the PAT trogram and ‘Nong jia le’ tourism in China. International Journal of Tourism Research, 15, 611–619.

Szymanski, S. (2011). About winning: The political economy of awarding the World Cup and the Olympic Games. SAIS Review of International Affairs, 31, pp. 87-97.

Takakura, M. (2014). Hospitality? Foreign tourists see 'Galapagos-pitality.’ Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved from http://asia.nikkei.com/magazine/20140320-Son-the-acquisitor/Culture/Hospitality-Foreign-tourists-see-Galapagos-pitality

Tanaka, A. (2013). Geographic concentration of foreign visitors to Japan. Research Institute of Economy, Trade & Industry, IAA. Retrieved from http://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/publications/dp/13e008.pdf

Taniguchi, M. (1992). High speed rail in Japan: A review and evaluation of the Shinkansen train. The University of California Transportation Center (UCTC). Retrieved from http://www.uctc.net/papers/103.pdf

Tang, H. and Jang, S. (2009). The tourism–economy causality in the United States: A sub-industry level examination. Tourism Management, 30, 553-558.

The Japan Times (2014, January 6). Attracting more tourists to Japan. Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/01/06/editorials/attracting-more-tourists-to-japan/#.U3xGtHadRSE

Today. (2014, May 21). Japan retailers target new big spenders. Retrieved from http://m.todayonline.com/business/japan-retailers-target-new-big-spenders-tourists

Vita, G. D. (2014). The long-run impact of exchange rate regimes on international tourism flows. Tourism Management, 45, 226-233.

Warnock, E. (2014). Abenomics shrinks Japan’s tourism deficit. Japanrealtime. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2014/01/15/abenomics-shrinks-japans-tourism-deficit

World Bank (2014). International Tourism, Number of Arrivals. Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.ARVL

World Tourism Organization Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.unwto-ap.org/image/news/50-2.pdf

World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) (2013). Economic Impact Research. Retrieved from http://www.wttc.org/research/economic-impact-research

Yu, J. Y. and Ko, T. G. (2012). A cross-cultural study of perceptions of medical tourism among Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourists in Korea. Tourism Management, 33, 80-88.

Zeng, Z., Prentice, C. and King, B. E. (2014). To gamble or not? Perceptions of Macau among mainland Chinese and Hong Kong visitors. International Journal of Tourism Research, 16, 105–112.

Zenga, B. and Ryanb, C. (2011). Assisting the poor in China through tourism development: A Review of research. Tourism Management, 33, 239–248.

Zhang, R. (2006). International or self-conscious? --A slip of Japanese government in policymaking. In Figueroa & Garate (ed.), Studies in contrastive linguistics (pp.1091-1098). Spain: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela.

Zhang, R. and McCornac, D. (2013). Intercultural awareness via improvements in intercultural communication: The need for change in Japan. Journal of Intercultural Communication. Retrieved from http://immi.se/intercultural

Downloads

Published

2014-12-30

How to Cite

Zhang, R., & McCornac, D. C. (2014). Challenges for the International Tourism Industry in Japan – An Agent for Economic Recovery and Development. Almatourism - Journal of Tourism, Culture and Territorial Development, 5(10), 109–124. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2036-5195/4776

Issue

Section

Essays