Abstract
In this paper, linear spline functions and regression lines were used to analyze the process of tourism recovery in three large earthquake-stricken municipalities: Kobe, an urban city area; the former Kawaguchi, an agricultural area; and Okushiri, a remote area. The data used as explanatory variables are distinguished as social, meteorological, and p ublic policy variables.The results show that remote and/or agricultural regions faced crucial difficulties in undertaking tourism recovery: Kobe was the only case of the three to have experienced a full recovery of its number of tourists, while the other two areas faced difficulties in their recovery processes. Consequently, we can say that the adverse effects of earthquakes are uneven with regard to the tourism recovery process.
