How has the frequency distribution of domestic overnight leisure travel changed in the past few decades? In order to answer these questions, we analyze the time series change of travel frequency distribution for the Japanese from 1991 until 2011. We conclude that 1) the average annual travel frequency decreased for 20 years, 2) the zero frequency ratio is increasing, the difference of travel frequency between individuals is also increasing. Moreover, we propose the travel frequency model and explain this time series change by the changes of 3 effects (age, birth cohort and period in each prefectures) in order to understand the differences of travel frequency distributions. The results indicates that 3) the time series change in annual travel frequency can be explained by the changes in age composition and difference among birth cohorts, and 4) the change of zero frequency ratio can be explained by change of period effects and this occur only in rural areas.
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