Roles of Host Foreigners in Japanese Ski Resorts in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture: Focusing on the Actor Transition in the Resort Development Process

Abstract

To understand the roles of host foreigners in Japanese ski resorts, whose number is increasing with the development of inbound tourism, this study analyzed those individuals’ business activities and the transformation of the resort town of Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. Furthermore, the roles of host foreigners are characterized in relation to Japanese actors via the structure of actor transition in the resort development process. Host foreigners mainly operate accommodation services and expand their business significantly into other kinds of ventures. They have added services desired during foreign skiers’ stays and increased the number of accommodation and restaurant facilities in the resort town. They take on important roles in updating Japanese ski resorts where traditional Japanese actors have had difficulty in renewing and renovating services due to financial problems and the decline of domestic ski tourism. The business activities engaged in by host foreigners and their relationships with Japanese actors differ depending on when they started their business. Within Japan, inbound tourism developed later than in Western countries; therefore we are now witnessing the replacement of Japanese actors by host foreigners, not only in ski resorts but also in other types of destinations. The analysis of this actor transition will contribute to understanding the unique structural transformation of Japanese destinations.