Cultural Tourism in Japan: A Critical Analysis of Tourists Perceptions of Marketing and Promotional Material for Japanese Cultural Tourism

Abstract

“Japan never considers time together as time wasted. Rather, it is time invested.” (Richie, 1992:29) This study has looked at tourist’s perceptions of the marketing and promotional material used for Japanese cultural tourism. It has looked at case studies from different tour operators looking at the way they have advertised and the author has conducted primary research to find out people’s thoughts on the material, what they found appealing and what could be improved. Questionnaires and focus groups were used by the researcher in order to gather the primary data required to successfully achieve the aim and objectives set by the researcher at the start of the project. These questionnaires and focus groups feature questions which intended to discover the opinions of the participants in relation to cultural tourism in Japan and the marketing and promotional material behind it. Results of this research have been presented in several sections which include the results of the questionnaires, the results of the focus group, the reoccurring themes in both methods and finally developing a marketing strategy for future use by the Japanese National Tourism Organisation. After collecting the final results, the researcher analysed the results of the questionnaires, the results of the focus group, discovered the reoccurring themes in both methods and recommended conclusions for the Japan National Tourism Organisation’s promotion in the UK using the results provided from the study.