Changes in tourists in the ogasawara islands after registration as a World Heritage site

Abstract

While the World Heritage Convention is aimed at the evaluation and protection of natural and cultural heritage registration on the World Heritage List is also utilized as an effective means for tourism development in local areas. Many examples of the transformation of tourism have been reported at World Heritage Sites after registration. Especially when areas were underdeveloped as popular tourist sites, registration as World Heritage Sites can change not only the number of visitors but also their type from allocentric to psychocentric. Cases of remote islands isolated from urban areas are good examples. The purpose of this study was to examine the qualitative as well as quantitative transformation of tourists visiting the Ogasawara Islands, oceanic islands located approximately 1,000 km from the main islands of Japan, before and after World Heritage registration in 2011. As methods for the measurement of the qualitative transformation, tourists' characteristics and behavior before and after registration were compared, focusing on the frequency at which they had visited Ogasawara in the past, the length of stay on a single trip, and places visited during the stay, as well as their age and occupation. The number of tourists not only increased after the Ogasawara Islands became well known but also several marked changes in their characteristics and behavior were seen after registration. Before registration, many tourists in Ogasawara felt strongly attracted to and had a special feeling toward the islands, and repeaters, single travelers, and long-term stay travellers were typical. This showed that allocentric tourists to Ogasawara were more common than psychocentric ones before registration, probably because the locational feature of the islands meant that a relatively long time was necessary for a visit. After registration, however, single travelers and repeaters decreased in number as well as in rate, and the percentage of psychocentric or mass tourists who stay for shorter times and take part in many guided tours increased. Meanwhile, because a single visit still requires at least several days, much of the increase in tourists comprise students and the elderly. Considering the limitations of accommodation and transportation, it is not yet clear whether these tendencies will continue and expand in the future. However, tourism in the Ogasawara Islands could change fundamentally depending on corresponding changes on the receiving side such as tourism agents and local administration.