Analysis of Tourism Demand for Okinawa in Asia

         
Author Name IWAHASHI Roki (University of the Ryukyus)
Creation Date/NO. January 2023 23-J-002
Research Project Economic Policy for Post Covid-19 Japanese Regional Economies
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Abstract

Tourism demand for Okinawa during 2010-2019 is examined in this paper with two different approaches. First, the number of visitors to Okinawa from 6 Asian regions (i.e., Taipei, Seoul, Shanghai, Hongkong, Bangkok, and Singapore) are explained with simple linear regression model where reginal GDP, real effective exchange rate index, and temperature difference are explanatory variables. Rapid recent growth of Asian economies, and the weaker yen are decisive factors in increasing the number of foreign tourists to Okinawa. Second, we developed a theoretical model where probability of travel to Okinawa is defined for two types of travelers—one for first-time travelers and the other for frequent travelers. We have estimated the dynamics of these probabilities to understand the behaviors of travelers from 4 Asian regions. Especially, travelers from Shanghai and Hongkong are more willing to return once they visit Okinawa.