Roles of Host Foreigners in Japanese Ski Resorts in Hakuba, Nagano: Focusing on Change in Actor Composition in the Resort Development Process (English Translation)

Abstract

To understand the roles of host foreigners in Japanese ski resorts, whose number is increasing with the development of international tourism, this study analyzed the foreigners’ business activities and the transformation of the resort town of Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. Furthermore, the roles of host foreigners are characterized in relation to Japanese actors via the structure of change in actor composition in the resort development process. Host foreigners mainly operate accommodation services but significantly expand their business operations into other types of ventures. They add attractive add-on services during foreign skiers’ stays and increase the number of accommodations and restaurant facilities in the resort town. They play an important role in maintaining and keeping up with the latest trends in Japanese ski resorts to consistently attract customers, while traditional Japanese actors struggle to renew and modify their services due to financial constraints and the decline in ski tourism. Host foreigners’ diverse business activities and their relationships with Japanese actors differ depending on when they started their businesses. International tourism in Japan developed later than in Western countries; therefore, many host foreigners are replacing Japanese actors in ski resorts and other types of destinations. The analysis of the change in actor composition contributes to an improved understanding of the unique structural transformation of Japanese destinations.