This study examines air service development in Japanese regional airports from the theoretical viewpoints of destination management, transaction cost, and value-chain. Japanese regional governments actively engage in air service development to attract new international routes and new foreign entrants in their local airports, leading to the following effects. First, the active engagement builds the mutual credibility and long-term relationship, reducing the transaction cost. Second, by collaborating with and coordinating with many players and stakeholders such as local governments, councils, travel agencies, DMOs, and JNTO, it is possible to provide more effective information as a whole region or across regions, leading to internalization of external effects. Third, such collaboration and coordination make it possible to offer high-value added travel product such as wide-area product covering multiple regions and using different airports and more local-oriented travel product, contributing to reduction of information asymmetry about tourism between foreign airlines and local airports.

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This research aims to survey the personal attributes of general managers of Japanese hotels (hereinafter, hotel GM) and to analyze the relationship between the awareness of their personal attributes and attributes of hotel properties. The awareness here is in regards with the types of professional duties hotel GMs consider that they need to perform during their daily operations. The exploratory factor analysis identified that the professional duties that Japanese hotel GMs consider important consist of three factors. Further, no significant difference was noted for virtually any items in the relationship between the awareness of professional duties and personal attributes; however, GMs who had experience in other industries showed a tendency of placing greater importance on the two factors of seamless daily operations and customer management than GMs without other industry experience. No significant difference was noted in the relationship between the awareness of professional duties and hotel properties for any items. These results indicate that personal attributes and attributes of hotel properties, with the exception of experience in other industries, have virtually no impact on the awareness of professional duties of Japanese hotel GMs.

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Amid growing interest in green tourism, school trips involving experiential and interactive tourism have recently attracted attention in education and other settings. This paper examines initiatives in experiential educational travel by the Hiroshima Bay Area Marine Metropolitan Research Council (HBAC). We uncovered the factors driving this growth while charting the initiatives' progress and analyzing the structure underpinning their expansion.
Leading organizations' promotion expertise and price-setting experience together with support from Hiroshima Prefecture helped drive growth. Children living in cities experienced the authenticity of rural communities through their history, nature, people, and lifestyles, and rediscovered the value of these communities. Their feedback engendered pride and self-confidence among residents, and this interaction created a virtuous cycle of positive impressions. Discovery of the value of communities through learning and the new value provided to communities were the most important factors in the rapid growth of experiential educational travel led by the HBAC.

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This paper studied how the concept of marketing is recognized in Japan's DMOs, comparing it with the concept of marketing in the field of business administration. One method to find insight regarding the discussion of DMOs in Japan is to analyze the actual recognitions such as marketing-related requirements for the Japanese-version of the DMO registration system (data collection / analysis, etc.). Through literate research, this work found that Japanese DMOs do not go into the perspective of marketing theory in the field of business administration, which aims for “customer creation” and “societal marketing concept”. In addition, regarding destination marketing, where academic research is progressing in the tourism field, it was revealed that its application and practice are limited in Japan.

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The Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima remains a precious building, a memorial to the destruction caused by the atomic bomb as well as a symbol for world peace. The Dome is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is listed as “The Hiroshima Peace Memorial. ” This study has two purposes: 1. to categorize different types of views of the Atomic Bomb Dome under “landscape types”; 2. to consider the significance of these landscape according to subjective attributes such as how a viewer experienced the Dome. In our results, views of the Atomic Bomb Dome were classified into six landscape types based on these attributes. Specifically, differences were found in the following: the characteristics of the elements comprising the landscape, the historical period in which the Dome was viewed, and the site from which the Dome was viewed. In conclusion, recallable memories of Hiroshima have different meanings and significance. The results show that planners/designers should create multiple ways for visitors to experience the Dome, such as offering a variety of views.

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This research investigates how W. E. L. Keelingʼs Tourists' Guide (1880) describes Kyoto's famous places and newly popular activities through British eyes. K. Yamamotoʼs Celebrated Places in Kiyoto (1873), which was issued for the Kyoto Exposition, is used for comparison to ascertain its influence on Tourists' Guide. Keeling selected from Yamamoto's list of tourist spots, as well as from Kyoto Exposition venues including Imperial palaces and high-ranking temples. His guidebook was also found to have been greatly influenced by older travel writings by Westerners including the Swede Carl Thunberg, the German Engelbert Kaempfer, and the sixteenth-century Portuguese missionary Luís Fróis. Keeling introduces popular activities including dinner with geisha and shooting the rapids; he vividly describes and recommends the latter. Influenced by earlier travel writings by Westerners as well as by the Kyoto Exposition and Yamamoto's guide, Keeling's Tourists' Guide is an important historical document and an exciting piece of travel writing that depicts Kyoto's inbound tourism in the early Meiji period.

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This research contemplates how traditional travel agencies can maintain their market relevance by identifying the fundamental business-to-consumer (BtoC) service values to which they should aspire in their physical outlets. Specific issues and challenges are considered by means of questionnaires, interviews, and references to previous research. The ultimate goal is to utilize industry market research to redefine the service qualities that agencies should strive to offer their customers. Three key determinations are presented regarding the nature of travel agency services up until the point of purchase. 1) The employee service process should be redesigned to guarantee that customers receive specialist and expert advice when discussing their travel requirements. 2) Agency staff should be involved in the online dialogue with customers to build trust with them from the point at which they begin examining travel options online up until they visit the agency in person. 3) An in-store “physical environment” should be created to ensure that customers are professionally served with a layout and functionality that is fully optimized for delivering the highest level of customer satisfaction.

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In Japan, destination marketing is not sufficiently recognized. Furthermore, because conceptual research tends to be scarce, it is difficult to build a common understanding of destination marketing. In this paper, I will clarify the changes in tourism theory through a historical analysis of tourism theory. Then, the historical positioning of Wahabʼs research, which is said to be the origin of destination marketing, will be conducted. Tourism theory introduced the concept of marketing as it expanded from research on the internal environment perspective to research on the external environment perspective under the influence of changes in the tourism market. Tourism marketing was a marketing activity aimed at customer orientation, and its method was the use of destinations. Destination marketing, on the other hand, was destination-oriented marketing. This transformed destination from a marketing tool to a marketing objective. Wahabʼs research was visionary because it was an idea that led to modern sustainable tourism. On the other hand, his research had its limitations: it only presented a philosophy, not a concrete theory.

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Establishing clear visions of revenue optimization and distribution strategies based on a deep understanding of the uniqueness of hotel rooms business and selecting appropriate combinations of strategies and investments as well as establishment of clear policies and procedures on revenue, distribution, and internet marketing that are closely interrelated will be a key driver of successful implementations of revenue optimization.
Applying revenue optimization theory and understanding of its logics are critically important to maintain a healthy business. To identify the appropriate performance measurement and pricing strategies, the key performance index and pricing methods historically used in the industry are evaluated and reviewed with considerations of price elasticity of demand and the unique characteristics of the industry such as perishability and inflexibility of inventory, consumer behaviors by market segment, and timing of payments with the testimonies by reservation, revenue, distribution, and system managers.
The efforts on driving digital traffic to hotels' own websites are also evaluated in order to identify its essential value and contribution towards the implementation of revenue optimization. In conclusion, securing the independency of pricing based on appropriate value delivery, and relationship management with both existing and potential customers to generate high loyalty guests to hotel brands will lead to the successful application of revenue optimization.

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In recent years, the author conducted a survey on the three agritourism facilities in Crete Island, which is located on the southern tip of the Aegean Sea in Greece. What surprised then in relation to the difference between Japan and Europe was the EUʼs financial support system for private businesses that operate these agritourism facilities. Each of the three facilities surveyed so far had received a financial grant, which is called “LEADER”, from the EU. This LEADER programme has currently been taken over by another programme. Also, each facility is still operating effectively after its opening. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of employment and supply chain in the local community as well, it contributes considerably to the local economy.
Therefore, this research plans to proceed to the following studies for the next five years: 1) Grasping the outline of the financial support system related to the tourism sector in the region of EU. 2) Broadly defining tourism business support systems of EU, such as the European Regional Development Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development etc., in addition, the characteristics and operational status of their preceding systems, also, the business effects and problems of the beneficiaries. 3) Case studies for tourism promotion utilizing this support system (for Greece / South Aegean Islands and Crete)
In this study, as the initial stage, the research team will clarify, as above mentioned 1) stage, the outline of the financial support system related to the tourism sector in the region of EU, especially for the six major related funds.

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There are many regional development support systems with public funds in Europe. This study focused on the diversification of public assistance programmes for the tourism sector in the EU, using the booklet “EU FUNDING FOR THE TOURISM SECTOR 2014-2020” published by the EU as a clue. Tourism in the EU has strategic importance and a broad impact on economic growth, employment, and social development. The tourism sectorʼs needs and the related range are vast and various; therefore, the programmes and sub-programmes have a wide variety. European partnerships are cross-sectoral, organizational, and regional, offering unique opportunities to address common issues deeply affecting each other. The examples of the programmes are richly diverse. Furthermore, their effects, benefits, and scope are considerably multidimensional. These programs have the original target and purpose (aim) such as environment, technological innovation, creative industry support, research promotion. At the same time, they are a multifaceted framework that directly and indirectly supports the tourism sector. The multi-layered aims increase the possibility of mutual or cross-cutting development in regions and fields. As a result, in the tourism-related various fields and sectors, diversification of development has been realized.

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On May 5, 1965, Yasushi Inoue (1907-1991), one of Japan's most well-known post-World War II novelists, departed on the ferry “Baikal” from the port of Yokohama to Nakhotka. Thus began his travels around the Soviet Union. The purpose of his journey was to enter the “Sai-iki” (the “Western Region”) of Central Asia. Inoue had dreamed of visiting these lands since his student days thirty years earlier.
This paper describes Inoue's travel around “Sai-iki” by analyzing his unpublished notes, photographs, and literary works, along with that of other Japanese travelers. Inoue's travel contributed to the strategy for developing the Soviet Union's tourism industry in the 1960s. The Inbound Tourism policy of the Soviet Union during this period appealed to Japanese intellectuals who dreamed of visiting “Sai-iki” and seeing its ancient ruins. But in another way, Inouoe's travel was incorporated into the inbound tourism system as propaganda, a way to advertise the achievements of socialism.

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Since the late 90s, branding has become one of significant role at Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO) across the globe particularly in Europe, Oceania, and North America. Destination branding has become an established field in marketing and tourism study. However, very little attention has been paid on its practical aspects as it tends to focus on its theory. It is said that business practitioners at NTOs are struggling to find the right fit for successful branding implementation rather than its theory. The objective of this paper is to study NTO's branding from its practical side by making a closer examination of UNWTO's handbook on tourism destination branding. The paper has revealed that NTO needs to take brand philosophy into account in a corporate culture to be incorporated into all business activities.

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Tourism is gaining its importance as governments around the world including the Japanese government position it as a strategic industry to grow their economies. However, while tourism provides economic benefits, it is not without side effects such as destruction of the natural environment, development imbalances, and overtourism. Extensive research and discussions have been conducted on overtourism to address the negative effects of excessive tourism. However, they have failed to provide any specific measures and solutions. This study discusses the definition and causes of overtourism, and provides suggestions as to how travel agencies and individual travelers can contribute to overcoming the negative effects of tourism in terms of sustainability. For example, a travel agency can assess the process leading to excessive tourism through the occupancy rate of available travel products in a specific area. They can help diversify destinations by curbing advertising and developing new tourism products when tourism in a particular area overheats. In addition, to avoid contributing to overtourism issues, many problems can be alleviated by exercising so called “Responsible Tourism” that would allow visitors and local residents to coexist. Changing destinations is effective action which should help to address overtourism, but managing tourism consumption in consideration of local communities may be one of the responsibilities of travelers themselves.

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The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of Chinaʼs low birthrate and aging population on the age structure of Chinese visiting Japan. In this study, we take the changes in the age structure of Chinese visiting Japan from 2006 to 2017 as objective variables, and set factors that may affect the changes in age structure as explanatory variables, and then use correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis to determine Examined the correlation between the two. The results of the investigation show that the factors affecting the proportions of the various age groups of Chinese visiting Japan are as follows: In the “40 to 44” age group, it is “the proportion of the population over 65 in the total population”. In the “55 to 59” age group is the “child dependency ratio”. The two age groups “60 to 64” and “65 to 69” are the “elderly dependency ratio”. In the “70 years and older” age group, it is “the proportion of the population over the age of 65 to the total population”. As a result, this study has reached the conclusion that the age structure of Chinese visiting Japan will be tilted towards the elderly to a certain extent.

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