This study focuses on the process from the tourism experience of “lifestyle migrants” who voluntarily migrate to achieve their ideal lifestyle to immigration decision-making. Previous studies suggest that many lifestyle migrants have experienced local tourism prior to immigration, and that this experience has influenced immigration decision-making. However, few studies specifically demonstrate the processes by which the effects are impacted. To explore the influence of previous tourism experiences on the decision-making processes for migration, the authors of this study conducted a semi-structured interview of immigrants from Okinawa Prefecture. The Modified Grandet Thoery Analysis (M-GTA) approach was used to analyze the results of the interviews. This method generated concepts from verbatim records of interviews and presented the relationship between concepts in the form of a diagram. The results of the analysis suggested that immigrants were impressed and satisfied by tourism experiences before migrating, and that this former encounter became a pull factor for relocation. Dissatisfaction with the existing daily life was a push factor for resettlement in another region. The researchers also found that the final decision to migrate exerted the greatest impact on job decisions, although multiple visits resulted in migration desires and perceived barriers.
