In regions that have introduced additional taxes and contributions to promote tourism, efforts are being made to clarify the existence and purpose of these taxes among tourists, who serve as the primary taxpayers. Although such measures have the potential to decrease the loyalty of certain tourists to a given destination, no research has examined this concern. This study focused on the bathing tax, a mandatory fee collected from hot spring users, and conducted a survey to assess tourists' awareness of tax oblivion and clarity based on their willingness to pay （WTP）. The results revealed that, regardless of their WTP, respondents were largely unaware of the amount and purpose of the bathing tax. This indicates that the tax is perceived as obscure. Among those with low WTP, being notified about the bathing tax and its purpose in the regions they visited tends to lower their loyalty to those destinations. This study also found that collecting the bathing tax separately from accommodation fees at checkout tends to lower loyalty among visitors with low WTP. These findings suggest that common efforts used to increase tourists' understanding may inadvertently create discomfort and reduce loyalty. Therefore, it is important to reassess these efforts.

The objective of this study is to examine the psychological and physical effects of leisure travel on cancer patients and survivors,with a particular focus on its potential to enhance their quality of life （QOL） and the challenges encountered by the tourismindustry in meeting their needs. Although the field of health and wellness tourism has received considerable attention, there hasbeen a paucity of research examining the travel motivations of individuals with chronic illnesses, particularly cancer.The results of an online survey of 211 cancer survivors revealed two key motivational factors: The first of these is “Release fromIllness & New Beginnings,” which encompasses the ways in which travel can assist patients in temporarily escaping the identityof being ill and regaining self-esteem. The second is “Relaxation & Enjoyment,” which focuses on more general motivations suchas stress relief and pleasure. Those undergoing treatment exhibited stronger motivation for escape and recovery, whereas thosein remission demonstrated a greater proclivity for relaxation. These findings suggest that tailored travel products for cancersurvivors could enhance their quality of life. Travel can serve as psychological and physical support during the recovery process.Future research should examine specific barriers and further investigate the role of travel in supporting cancer patients atdifferent treatment stages.

The image of a tourist destination is considered essential when making a choice. This paper aims to examine the consistency or gap between the projected and perceived images of Kyoto as a tourist destination, based on Official-generated content （OGC） and Tourist-generated content （TGC）. OGC includes information derived from the official websites of Japan National Tourism Organization （JNTO） and Destination Management Organizations （DMOs）, while TGC consists of online reviews written in English by inbound tourists who visited Kyoto's top 20 attractions, published from January 2018 to August 2024. This study focuses on two primary aspects: firstly, high-frequency terms were identified and categorized into six dimensions based on cognitive-affective factors, assessing the gap between projected and perceived images within each dimension; secondly, Sentiment Analysis was conducted to obtain three dimensions and measure the gap in each dimension. The results reveal distinct gaps in both aspects. Regarding cognitive-affective factors, the largest gap was found in leisure activities, followed by natural resources and cultural resources, highlighting an asymmetry between official website content and tourists' perceptions. In Sentiment Analysis, neutral sentiment displayed the largest gap. Moreover, both projected and perceived images contained negative elements. Mitigating these negative sentiments and bridging these gaps in each dimension will be crucial for sustainable development within tourist destinations.

This study analyzes the mechanism and support tools of DiscoverEU action, which is one of the EU initiatives to help young people aged 18 by offering intra-regional rail travel. The aim of this paper is to investigate into how DiscoverEU action supports participants to make their travel greener and more effective in line with the programme objectives to provide some implications for enhancing youth mobility and inclusive youth travel development in Japan. As a result, the 3 characteristics were confirmed （1） proactive support for the ‘process' of individual itinerary design, （2） active support for the formation of youth travel communities both online and offline, and （3） consecutive and comprehensive support to bridge their experiences to further mobility opportunities and youth participation. This study demonstrated the need for further research and discussions regarding youth travel support in Japan in the end.

This study aims to analyze the research status and futurity of Wellness Tourism. A Bibliometric Analysis was conducted on themes and content derived from published research （from 2009 to 2024.7） listed in the Web of Science （WOS） database service. The results indicate a consistent upward trend in published research papers related to Wellness Tourism, with China having the highest number of publications and extensive international cooperation. The majority of publications originate from Asian countries. At the same time, we know that research on wellness tourism in Japan still needs to be enhanced. Keyword Co-occurrence Analysis reveals that “Wellness Tourism” serves as the central keyword, accompanied by other significant terms such as “health”, “tourism”, “satisfaction”, “destination”, “health tourism”, and “quality of life”. Term Cluster Analysis identifies three clusters: “Tourist Demand”, “Tourist Destination Supply”, and “Tourist Behavior Intention”, each generating related main terms. Term Burst Analysis highlights current research hotspots and provides insights into future research directions, focusing on “Wellness Destination” and “Wellness Tourism Experience”. Overall, Keyword Co-occurrence Analysis, Term Cluster Analysis, and Term Burst Analysis yield consistent results indicating that key research topics in Wellness Tourism include tourist demand, behavioral intention, and tourism destination supply. Further studies are needed in these areas.

The demand for travel among elderly individuals in Japan has significantly expanded, with many seniors visiting outdoor tourist destinations to enjoy nature and scenery. However, compared to urban tourism, outdoor tourist sites are currently lagging in their response to the needs of the elderly and individuals with disabilities, not only in terms of physical facilities but also in providing human support and information. This study examines the challenges and measures for universal accessibility in outdoor tourist destinations based on a nationwide survey conducted in Geosites.

The trans-pacific route is the route group connecting the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas region, which is categorized as long-distance international air traffic. This paper studies the rapidly changing and dynamic trans-pacific air transport network, which has uniqueness in geographic, economic, regulatory and aircraft operation perspectives, by using the past 30 years of air traffic data and network pattern to analyze the factors behind these changes. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the characteristics unique to the trans-pacific routes as well as the commonalities which may apply to other long-distance routes, rather than taking a comprehensive look at the whole world or a local look at only specific countries. This study, as a result, revealed that the impacts by market expansion due to economic growth, technological innovations in aircraft, development of airport infrastructure, and expansion of open skies agreements have contributed to the evolution of the trans-pacific route network over the past 30 years.

This study outlines a framework delineating the triangle model of regional brands to establish the regional brand of “sake = Niigata” overseas. The triangle model of regional brands promotes the region itself as a brand, with the region being a method of provision augmented by storytelling. Niigata Prefecture is the subject of the zone design, being the target zone brand, and this study considers the elements relevant to the triangular model framing the regional brand Niigata Prefecture in terms of episode making. Specifically, these episodes are interesting stories related to the regional brand and the actors network, which are the core promoters of the regional brand. Each element of episode making, such as sake brewery tourism and the sake brewing program, the information center in France, and the actors network （e.g., the Niigata Prefecture Sakeology Center, the local government, and the Niigata Prefecture Sake Brewers Association）, is effective in promoting Niigata sake as a regional brand overseas. It is expected that the effective combination of each element will produce greater effects in establishing Niigata sake as a regional brand. As the regional sake brand becomes established overseas, more foreign tourists will want to learn about the story of sake and taste it locally, which will help revitalize the region.

In recent years, overtourism has become a significant concern, prompting extensive research and reporting on its impacts. To address this issue, Tourism Indicators for Sustainability （STI） have been developed as institutional tools to enhance sustainability in tourism destinations. Notable examples include the UNWTO Guidebook （2004）, GSTC-D （established internationally in 2013）, ETIS （introduced in Europe in 2013）, and JSTS-D （updated in Japan in 2020）. Effectively implementing STI requires the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders; however, reaching a consensus among such a diverse group can be challenging. Okamura （2004） points out that bottom-up approaches, which involve resident participation, often encounter difficulties due to information asymmetry—where predicting the participation of others becomes difficult—suggesting that top-down approaches might be more effective. This research explores whether consensus can be achieved among a broad stakeholder base by applying game theory analysis. It identifies free-riding as a key issue resulting from information asymmetry but argues that appropriate institutional design of STI can overcome these challenges and enable effective bottom-up implementation.