Critical Issues in Sport Tourism in Japan:Economical Sustainability Perspective

June 19th, 2021 Critical Issues in Sport Tourism: Exploring Pathways to Sustainability in Thailand Critical Issues in Sport Tourism in Japan: Economical Sustainability Perspective Rei Yamashita, Ph.D. （Assistant Professor, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University）

TODAYʼS AGENDA https://www.hakubavalley.com/ja/about_hakubavalley 1. Self introduction 2. Japanese tourism and sport tourism situation before COVID-19 3. What is planned for resilience? 4. Introducing two research 5. Wrap-up 2

SELF INTRODUCTION • Rei Yamashita (Ph.D.) • Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. • Assistant Professor, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University • Research interests: Sport consumer behavior (spectators, tourists), social impact studies in parasporting events. • Currently working on J. League satellite fans (e.g., J. League fans living in Thailand) 3

What should we think of for the rapid recovery after COVID-19 in tourism industry? 4

JAPANESE TOURISM AND SPORT TOURISM SITUATION BEFORE COVID-19 • 2003: “Visit Japan Campaign”, aiming to become a tourism nation • 2006: Tourism-based Country Promotion Basic Act, an important pillar of Japanʼs policy in the 21st century. • 2013: Tokyo 2020 Olympic Paralympic Games decided to be held. • 2019: Rugby World Cup first held in Asian continent. • 2020: Tokyo 2020 Olympic Paralympic Games • 2021: World Masters Games in Kansai 2019 – 2021 Golden Sport Years 5

JAPANESE TOURISM AND SPORT TOURISM SITUATION BEFORE COVID-19 35 32M Till 2030 index 30 ü Arrivals︓40M → 60M ü Expendit2u5 res︓¥220B → ¥380B 20 Great East Japan Visit 15 Japan Earthquake Starts 10 5 0 6 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Figure 1. Number of international tourists visiting Japan（JNTO, 2019）

2019 RUGBY WORLD CUP • One of the most popular mega sporting events in the world. • 12 host cities, 45 matches played. • 99% tickets were sold out (2015 ENG; 98%, 2011 NZ; 94%, 2007 FRA; 94%) • 28% were bought from foreign countries (EY, 2019) 7

2019 RUGBY WORLD CUP • 242,000 foreign tourists • Spent ¥686,117 (avg. of • 60% novice, 75% will general travelers; ¥147,907) “come again“ • Stayed 16 nights 8

2019 RUGBY WORLD CUP 9

HIGH EXPECTATION FOR SPORT TOURISM Sport Tourism Japanʼs unique natural resources: Authentic Experience: Outdoor Sport Tourism Budo Tourism (Japan Sport Agency, n.d.) 10

EX. HAKUBAVALLEY TOURISM • Reinforced the attractions during the Thousand green seasons 350 • All-season resort 304300 250 266 253 293 287 275 229 243 213 211 249 200 150 100 50 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Figure 2. Green season touristsʼ visitors 11

EX. HAKUBAVALLEY TOURISM • 35％ from the Asian continent. 6% 1% • Activities besides winter sport. 10% • Information dissemination in 48% multiple languages. 35% Oceania Asia North America Europe Others Figure 3. International tourists visiting Hakuba in 2019 12

TOURISM INDUSTRY CRISIS • Serious pandemic spread worldwide. • 74% decrease from 2019 of international touristsʼ arrivals (UNWTO, 2021). • International tourism back to levels of 30 years ago (1990s) (UNWTO, 2021). • Japan: International arrivals dropped to 4,115,828; 87.1% decrease (JNTO, 2020). 13

JAPANESE TOURISM AND SPORT TOURISM SITUATION BEFORE COVID-19 • 2003: “Visit Japan Campaign”, aiming to become a Tourism Nation • 2006: Tourism-based Country Promotion Basic Act, an important pillar of Japanʼs policy in the 21st century. • 2013: Tokyo 2020 Olympic Paralympic Games decided to be held. • 2019: Rugby World Cup first held in Asian continent. • 2020: Tokyo 2020 Olympic Paralympic Games Postponed for • 2021: World Masters Games in Kansai one year Ø What is a sustainable destination? Ø How destination marketing strategies continue to be established in support of a rapid recovery? 14

ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE (1) • External shocks (e.g., terrorists attacks, pandemics, economic crisis etc.) have notable impacts on tourism flows (Sönmez et al., 1999). • Tourism academia needs to support the tourism industry for their rapid recovery (Higgis-Desbiolles, 2021), and COVID-19 has led a reconsideration of global growth model for tourism (Gössling et al., 2020). • Chance to rethink what a sustainable destination is and how destination marketing strategies could continue to be established in support of a rapid recovery and one tool to build tourism resilience in crisis is information and technology (Hall et al., 2017). 15

ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE (2) • Information search behavior • Decision-making process: information search, evaluation, purchase (Chen et al., 2015) • Tourism information seekers spend more time compared to everyday products (Jun et al., 2017; Lu et al., 2016) to avoid potential risk, complicated (Jun et al., 2017) • Stored as touristsʼ memories as prior knowledge, primary stages that marketers can influence their decision-making (Gursoy, 2019) How tourists obtain essential information? (Gurosy, 2019; Gurosy et al., 2018) 16

ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE (3) • Destination marketing • Key elements to discriminate from other rival destinations (Park & Jang, 2013). • Strengths and weaknesses (Hallmann et al., 2012). • Mountain resort development has increased internationally, they are delivering similar services. Destination competitiveness is necessary (UNWTO, 2018） • Lack of marketing strategies in Japanese ski resorts (Harada, 2020） What is an efficient marketing strategy? 17

ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE (4) • Enhance destination loyalty（Gursoy et al., 2014; Yolal et al., 2017; Yoon & Uysal., 2005） • Several advantages to increase touristsʼ destination loyalty 1. Retaining existing < acquiring new customers（Chi & Qu, 2008） 2. Recommend their experiences to others（Oppermann, 2000） 3. Raise customersʼ willingness to pay（Mao & Zhang, 2014） 18

1. Yamashita & Takata (2020) Relationship between prior knowledge, destination reputation, and loyalty among sport tourists, Journal of Sport & Tourism 2. Yamashita & Takata (2021) Segmentation of active international sport tourists by destination loyalty, Journal of Sport & Tourism 19

1. Yamashita & Takata (2020) Relationship between prior knowledge, destination reputation, and loyalty among sport tourists, Journal of Sport & Tourism 2. Yamashita & Takata (2021) Segmentation of active international sport tourists by destination loyalty, Journal of Sport & Tourism 20

RESEARCH (1) Investigate the influence of prior knowledge on reputation and destination loyalty • Domestic sport tourists who visited Niseko Adventure Centre from 11 to 15 August, 2018. • Measurement scales: familiarity (Artigas et al., 2015), expertise (Gursoy & McCleary, 2004), destination reputation (Sato et al., 2018), and destination loyalty (Yoon & Uysal, 2005) • Total sample size n = 221 21

RESEARCH (1) Prior Knowledge Familiarity H1 Destination H4 Destination H3 Reputation Loyalty H2 Expertise Figure 4. Hypotheses model for domestic sport tourists H1: Familiarity directly and positively affects destination reputation H2: Familiarity positively affects expertise H3: Expertise positively affects destination reputation H4: Destination reputation has a positive effect on destination loyalty 22

RESEARCH (1) Prior Knowledge Familiarity .32*** R2=.34 .21* Destination .58*** Destination Reputation Loyalty Expertise .53*** *p<.05, ***p<.001 χ2/df=2.42, CFI=.92, TLI=.90, RMSEA=.08 Figure 5. SEM results of domestic sport tourists ü H1〜H4: Supported ü Expertise mediates familiarity and destination reputation ü Destination reputation strongly affects destination loyalty 23

1. Yamashita & Takata (2020) Relationship between prior knowledge, destination reputation, and loyalty among sport tourists, Journal of Sport & Tourism 2. Yamashita & Takata (2021) Segmentation of active international sport tourists by destination loyalty, Journal of Sport & Tourism 24

RESEARCH (2) Segment international sport tourists by their perceived destination loyalty • International sport tourists who visited the ski resort in Niseko from 5 to 8 February, 2020. • Measurement scales: familiarity (Artigas et al., 2015), sport involvement (Chang & Gibson, 2011), & destination loyalty (Yoon & Uysal, 2005) • Total sample size n = 298 • Divided into three groups; extremely high, high, and low groups 25

RESEARCH (2) H1: Extremely high destination loyal group have been to the destination before. H2: Extremely high destination loyal group are more involved in sports than other segments. H3: Extremely high destination loyal group are more familiar towards the destinations than other segments. 26

RESEARCH (2) Table 1. Group comparison results of visitation experience DL Demographic DL Low DL High Extremely p value, Characteristics chi-square test High χ2(2) = 19.74, p<.001 Visitation experience (%) Novice 59 (28.0) 117 (55.5) 35 (16.6) Repeater Residual test 3.5 0 -3.6 Residual test 8 (9.2) 48 (55.2) 31 (35.6) -3.5 0 3.6 Table 2. Group comparison results of involvement and familiarity DL Low DL High DL F value Post-hoc analysis (1) (2) Extremely high (3) 1<2**, 1<3** 1<2**. 1<3*** Attraction 5.23 5.85 6.03 8.23*** 1<2*, 1<3***, 2<3* 1<2***, 1<3***, 2<3* Centrality 3.89 4.68 5.18 13.56*** Self-expression 3.91 4.45 4.92 9.29*** Familiarity 2.88 3.72 4.32 17.80*** Notes: ***p<.001, **p<.01, *p<.05, post-hoc analysis (Tukey test) 27

FROM TWO RESEARCHES... ü Prior knowledge is an important component for destination marketers to recognize. ü Extremely high loyal group have been to Niseko, familiar, and involved to sport. Ø Centralizing information platform, provide updated information. Ø Create a virtual space enables to experience the actual gliding course Ø Marketing strategies could differ in low and extremely high groups 28

WRAP-UP: FUTURE STUDIES Is the information given trustworthy or not? • Due to the intangible product, information Acquiring information from given via social media is efficient and User-generated content; UGC beneficial for potential tourists (Hu & Olivieri, 2021) 29 • User-generated content (UGC) assist touristsʼ in gathering information and making travel decisions (Ayeh et al., 2016; Assaker, 2020) • Easiness makes harder for tourists to gain credible information (Wang et al., 2014)

WRAP-UP: FUTURE STUDIES Which antecedents are crucial to expand destination loyalty? • Numerous variables are introduced to explain destination loyalty (Chi, 2012; Chi & Qu, 2008) • Most of reported antecedents have been studied separately (Gursoy et al., 2014) • Which antecedents should be stimulated most? Ø Place attachment (Gursoy et al., 2014) Ø Reputation (Yamashita & Takata, 2020) Ø Destination image (Gursoy et al., 2014) Ø Authentic experience (Hinch & Higham, 2005; Shipwat et al., 2016) 30

WRAP-UP: CONCLUSION • What is a sustainable tourism? Destination which has ü High reputation, which foster to high destination loyalty 31

WRAP-UP: CONCLUSION • What is a sustainable tourism? Destination which has ü High reputation, which foster to high destination loyalty • How destination marketing strategies continue to be established in support of a rapid recovery? Information management is crucial to ü Provide updated information ü Create a centralized information platform p Trustworthiness will be next topic to focus on 32

June 19th, 2021 Critical Issues in Sport Tourism: Exploring Pathways to Sustainability in Thailand Thank you!! ありがとうございました︕ Rei Yamashita, Ph.D. [email protected]