Special Issue / Invited Peer-Reviewed Article
Formation of the Inbound Tourism Business Ecosystem:
The Role of Tour Operators in Hawaii
2020 Volume 39 Issue 4 Pages 30-41
Details
2020 Volume 39 Issue 4 Pages 30-41
Who and what comprise the tourism business ecosystem for the Japanese tourism market in Hawaii? To answer this question, this paper focused on the behavior of an international tour operator (JTB Hawaii) and conducted a case study from the viewpoint of tourism management. We examined the process by which JTB Hawaii established their share of the Japanese tourism market by building various tourism-related businesses and supporting local communities, while simultaneously adapting to the changing times. This study suggests that JTB Hawaii’s actions included: (1) a bi-directional process that co-created economic and social values, (2) expansion to become a core tourism business for the entire region, and (3) implementation of survival measures as a private company by creating a public service organization.
