Japan Earthquake and Tsunami 2011 -How they Destroyed the Cultural Properties and the Cultural Tourism-

( Yasuhiro Watanabe ) 세계문화관광학회 2011 International Journal of Culture and tourism Resea Vol.4 No.1

On March 11, 2011, one of the greatest earthquakes in history hit the north-east coast of Japan’s Honshu island, followed by a deadly tsunami reaching as high as 10 meters. These Acts of God took lives of more than 20,000 people and left tens of thousands of families homeless. The quake and the tsunami not only destroyed area’s important industries and commerce but harmed many cultural properties. Tourism sector was also badly hit. Suffering directly from the loss of tourism/cultural assets, transportation, and accommodation facilities, and from the possibility of further earthquakes, scheduled blackouts, and moreover, a general sense of restraint, Japan’s tourism business, outbound as well as inbound and domestic, was drastically decreased. Inbound tourist in April 2011 was less than 40% of the same month previous year. The Tourism Agency is taking every measures to revive the tourism traffic but after four months, it is well lower than the average.

Relationship between Travel Distance and Expenditure

Yasuhiro Watanabe 한국문화관광학회 2021 문화관광연구 Vol.23 No.1

The longer the traveler travels from home to the destination, the more s/he spends at the destination. This is a “law” long known in tourism development studies. However, in this world of advancing transportation technology, does it still hold true? The most accurate method of its examination can be attained by conducting a large scale survey to tourists with a scope wide enough to represent the population, asking their location of residence, destination of travel and the amount spent at the destination. However, this paper verifies the validity of the law by using existing tourism and transportation statistics. The statistics used in this study are: 1) Japan Tourism Agency’s “Tourism Consumption Data”, which provides the average total amount paid for a trip by tourists and their distance travelled; 2) Transport Ministry’s “Passenger Travel Mode Survey”, which provides the share of the transportation mode used in a given travel sector; and 3) “Accommodation Statistics”, which sheds light on the number of nights stayed and the amount spent for accommodations. These data, after calculation adjustments, will show the amount paid for a trip, besides transportation and accommodations, by tourists and their distance of travel Japan has 47 prefectures. The study compared the amount, as achieved from above calculation process, of tourists traveling from Tokyo and its three neighboring prefectures to all other 43 prefectures. As a result of this comparison, the correlation coefficient between the distance travelled and the amount spent was 0.71, showing strong positive correlation. The significance of the proof of the “law” to the tourism developers will be that it does make sense to invest more in promoting long-distance travelers, and when a tourist destination is expecting a new mode of transportation connecting a far market, it should prepare for larger tourist consumption.

Relationship Between Travel Distance and Expenditure

( Yasuhiro Watanabe ) 한국문화관광학회 2014 문화관광연구 Vol.16 No.2

The longer the traveler travels from home to the destination, the more s/he spends at the destination. This is a “law” long known in tourism development studies. However, in this world of advancing transportation technology, does it still hold true? The most accurate method of its examination can be attained by conducting a large scale survey to tourists with a scope wide enough to represent the population, asking their location of residence, destination of travel and the amount spent at the destination. However, this paper verifies the validity of the law by using existing tourism and transportation statistics. The statistics used in this study are: 1) Japan Tourism Agency’s “Tourism Consumption Data”, which provides the average total amount paid for a trip by tourists and their distance travelled; 2)Transport Ministry’s “Passenger Travel Mode Survey”, which provides the share of the transportation mode used in a given travel sector; and 3) “Accommodation Statistics”, which sheds light on the number of nights stayed andthe amount spent for accommodations. These data, after calculation adjustments, will show the amount paid for a trip, besides transportation and accommodations, by tourists and their distance of travel. Japan has 47 prefectures. The study compared the amount, as achieved from above calculation process, of tourists traveling from Tokyo and its three neighboring prefectures to all other 43 prefectures. As a result of this comparison, the correlation coefficient between the distance travelled and the amount spent was 0.71, showing strong positive correlation. The significance of the proof of the “law” to the tourism developers will be that it does make senseto invest more in promoting long-distance travelers, and when a tourist destination is expecting a new mode of transportation connecting a far market, it should prepare for larger tourist consumption.

Rediscovering the 'Racket Theory' : The Relation between the Trunk Transportation Distance and the Tourist's Touring Area

Yasuhiro Watanabe 세계문화관광학회 2013 International Journal of Culture and tourism Resea Vol.6 No.1

The trunk transportation is the transportation that carries tourists from their home to the gateway of their trip destination, and back. The distance of the trunk transportation and the range of the area tourists travel at the destination show a positive correlation, i.e., the longer the tourists travel to the destination, the wider they tend to travel in the destination. This relationship is known in the Japanese tourism development field as the "Racket Theory." Tennis rackets have longer handle and a wider hoop area than a table tennis racket, whose handle is shorter and the hoop smaller. Transportation distance is the handle of the racket, and the width of the area at the destination is the racket hoop. This theory was first introduced by the tourism researchers in the 1970s when only 200 plus million people annually traveled in Japan. Now after almost five decades and after introduction of new transportation modes and new communication media, and now when approximately 300 million trips take place in a year, does this theory still hold true? To verify the validity of the theory, this study measured and compared the distances and the areas of the package tours actually marketed in Japan by a major travel agency, the width of the regions covered by tour brochure series, and the area of the region covered by the major travel guide books. This study shows that when Japanese travelers travel far from their home, they tend to visit tourist spots in a wider range of area, endorsing the concept of the Theory. The Racket Theory, by defining an area to which a tourist travels, can be a powerful guideline for tourist assets or facilities, in that it reveals which other assets or facilities would come as their competitors.

Rediscovering the ‘Racket Theory’ The Relation between the Trunk Transportation Distance and the Tourist’s Touring Area

Yasuhiro Watanabe 세계문화관광학회 2021 International Journal of Culture and tourism Resea Vol.14 No.1

The trunk transportation is the transportation that carries tourists from their home to the gateway of their trip destination, and back. The distance of the trunk transportation and the space of the area tourists travel at the destination show a positive correlation, i.e., the longer the tourists travel to the destination, the wider they tend to travel in the destination. This relationship is known in the Japanese tourism development field as the “Racket Theory.” Tennis rackets have longer handle and a wider hoop area than a table tennis racket, whose handle is shorter and the hoop smaller. Transportation distance is the handle of the racket, and the width of the area at the destination is the racket hoop. This theory was first introduced by the tourism researchers in the 1970s when only 200 plus million people annually traveled in Japan. . Now after almost five decades and after introduction of new transportation modes and new communication media, and now when approximately 300 million trips take place, does this theory still hold true? To verify the validity of the theory, this study measured and compared the distances and the areas of the package tours actually marketed in Japan by a major travel agency, the width of the regions covered by tour brochure series, and the area of the region covered by the major travel guide books. These study showed that when Japanese travelers travel far from their home, they tend to visit tourist spots in the wider area, endorsing the concept of the Theory. The Racket Theory, by defining an area that a tourist travel, can be a powerful guideline for tourist assets or facilities, in that it reveals which other assets or facilities would come as their competitors\

How Labor Shortage Affects the Level of Hospitality -In Case of the Japanese Tourism Industry –

Yasuhiro Watanabe 한국문화관광학회 2018 문화관광연구 Vol.20 No.2

Tourism is a labour-intensive industry. The mechanism and the quality of tourism are maintained by labour force. Therefore, changes in the labour force may influence the tourism business. In a country like Japan, where quality of customer service is a main part of its tourism attractions, such change could be crucial. This study investigated the correlation of the level of customer service in Japan, and the volume of labour force. It was revealed that, during the period of rapid increase of inbound visitors to Japan, the customer satisfaction index fell, when the unemployment rate decreased,

Commercialization of the Owara Bon Dance

Yasuhiro Watanabe 세계문화관광학회 2010 International Journal of Culture and tourism Resea Vol.3 No.1

"Owara kaze-no bon" is a folk dance festival held in the small town of Yatsuo in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The origin of the festival dates back to 18th century, however, the present style of the dance and the festival was established in the early 20th century. Ever since Yatsuo Tourism Board was formed in 1950 to attract 150,000 visitors to the Festival, more than double the number of those days, various promotional activities have been undertaken. Bus services began to connect the festival and the nearby railway stations; facilities for the spectators were newly built in the town for the convenience of the visitors. Even a novel and a popular song based on the Festival were released and both became a big hit. The dancing team of the Festival won in the folk dance competition to gain great fame in the cultural sector. The expansion naturally brought about negative effects to the town and its people. Not only the magnitude of the number of spectators, but the behavior of some inconsiderate lookers disturb the dance which is danced by the local people for their pleasure. The garbage left by the visitors is also causing the town a big financial burden. But more importantly, after being exposed to the tourism oriented commercialization, can the dance continue to create a new tradition of its own?

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami 2011 : How They Destroyed the Cultural Properties and the Cultural Tourism

Yasuhiro Watanabe 세계문화관광학회 2011 Conference Proceedings Vol.12 No.-

On March 11 2011 one of the greatest earthquakes in history hit the north-east coast of Japan's Honshu island followed by a deadly tsunami reaching as high as 10 meters. These Acts of God took lives of more than 20 000 people and left tens of thousands of families homeless. The quake and the tsunami not only destroyed area's important industries and commerce but harmed many cultural properties. The Japanese Agency of Cultural Affair reports that just by counting the nationally-designated properties more than 400 cultural properties were heavily damaged. Many National Treasures Important Cultural Properties Special Historic Sites and Special Places of Scenic Beauty have been affected: several properties will require a long time to recover. Some are totally lost. Tourism sector was also badly hit. Suffering directly from the loss of tourism/cultural assets transportation and accommodation facilities and from the possibility of further earthquakes scheduled blackouts and moreover a general sense of restraint Japan's tourism business outbound as well as inbound and domestic was drastically decreased. Inbound tourist in April 2011 was less than 40% of the same month previous year. The Tourism Agency is taking every measures to revive the tourism traffic but after four months it is well lower than the average. Cultural property as well as cultural tourism is a precious common heritage and valuable activity for Japan and for human beings. Cherishing these treasures to the future generation is the responsibility of those who live today. This is a report of the damages done by the Japan Earthquake 2011 and the tsunami to the cultural property and the cultural tourism business in Japan and what measures has been taken to save the properties and to revive the tourism traffic.

Commercialization of the Owara Bon Dance

Yasuhiro Watanabe 세계문화관광학회 2010 Conference Proceedings Vol.11 No.0

“Owara kaze-no bon” is a folk dance festival held in the small town of Yatsuo in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The origin of the festival dates back to 18th century, however, the present style of the dance and the festival was established in the early 20th century. Ever since Yatsuo Tourism Board was formed in 1950 to attract 150,000 visitors to the Festival, more than double the number of those days, various promotional activities have been undertaken. Bus services began to connect the festival and the nearby railway stations; facilities for the spectators were newly built in the town for the convenience of the visitors. Even a novel and a popular song based on the Festival were released and both became a big hit. The dancing team of the Festival won in the folk dance competition to gain great fame in the cultural sector. In the 1970s, the Board started a dance show with a charge for visitors. The site of the show continued to expand, and now it holds a seating of more than 9,000. Its tickets are sold nation- wide under a convenience store network, and are an instant sold-out. Presently, the three-day only festival in this small town with a population of less than 8,000, attracts approximately 300,000 visitors. The expansion naturally brought about negative effects to the town and its people. Not only the magnitude of the number of spectators, but the behavior of some inconsiderate lookers disturb the dance which is danced by the local people for their pleasure. The garbage left by the visitors is also causing the town a big financial burden. But more importantly, after being exposed to the tourism oriented commercialization, can the dance continue to create a new tradition of its own?

How Labor Shortage Affects the Level of Hospitality -In Case of the Japanese Tourism Industry -

( Yasuhiro Watanabe ) 세계문화관광학회 2018 International Journal of Culture and tourism Resea Vol.11 No.1

Tourism is a labour-intensive industry. The mechanism and the quality of tourism are maintained by labour force. Therefore, changes in the labour force may influence the tourism business. In a country like Japan, where quality of customer service is a main part of its tourism attractions, such change could be crucial. This study investigated the correlation of the level of customer service in Japan, and the volume of labour force. It was revealed that, during the period of rapid increase of inbound visitors to Japan, the customer satisfaction index fell, when the unemployment rate decreased,