Abstract
Historically, the ‘periphery’ has held its place by interacting and playing a role in relation to the ‘center’. It served as a nexus between regions and communities. The Keihoku region, since Kyoto’s inception, has long been a supplier of raw materials essential for building maintenance, providing goods and manpower as the emperor’s manor. In other words, Keihoku was a ‘periphery’ of Kyoto, not only geographically but economically and culturally. With the birth of modern Japan and the subsequent relocation of the capital, advancements in technology led to stronger building materials, diminishing the importance of timber sourced from Keihoku. As a result, Keihoku has been focusing on other sectors, notably tourism. This could be seen as a shift in the ‘center’ from Keihoku’s perspective. When thinking of tourism as an economic pillar, pinpointing a clear ‘center’ for its operation is not straightforward. Still, by defining what the ‘center’ is, the ‘periphery’s’ position also becomes apparent. Thus, this paper will explore the ‘periphery’ and ‘center’ in tourism by reviewing the tourism promotional strategies of Keihoku. To verify this, this paper plans to employ the business model theory framework.
