Exploring the effect of airport incentive programs: the practice of Narita International Airport

Incentive programs are widely used by airports as a marketing tool to attract new services. Empirical evidence regarding the effects of an isolated incentive program is yet to be explored. In this paper, we focus on airports located in Asia to detect the mechanisms, results and effects of the incentive program initiated by Narita International Airport, Japan. We present non-financial and financial indices to explore the effects of incentive schemes. For the non-financial aspect, the retention rate of new air services under incentives is explicitly defined and calculated. Regarding the financial impact, the costs and revenues and tourism revenues of flights under incentive schemes are calculated to estimate the incentive program’s financial and economic effects. The results demonstrate that the ‘2015RDP’ incentive program initiated by Narita International Airport has met its strategic goals and achieved success in attracting new services, as well as generating additional revenue for the airport and tourism industry.