Promotion of Cultural Tourism in the City of Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, Japan: Based on the Conjoint Analysis of Tourists' Preference for Cultural Facilities

Abstract

Kurokabe Square, Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, has been regenerating the city through conservation of the decayed old buildings and cultural tourism, spearheaded by the efforts of Kurokabe, Inc., We conducted a survey of tourists coming to the city of Nagahama, to determine how to improve tourists' satisfaction and maximize the benefits to the local community from tourism. We found that visitors who are interested in cultural facilities spend more than those who are not, repeatedly come to the city because they love the city's cultural landscape and creative glassware manufacturing. Also the visitors staying a whole day in the city spend roughly the same amount as those staying overnight. It is therefore recommendable for the city to utilize these cultural facilities to attract those tourists. Based on the visitors' WTP (Willingness-to-Pay), it might be possible to enhance the city's net tourism income by selling combined tickets for admission to cultural facilities such as the glassware museum with discounts to encourage visitors to stay longer.