Key Geographical Factors for Inbound and Domestic Tourism in Hokkaido

This chapter aims to provide an empirical contribution to trace key geographical factors for inbound and domestic tourism in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. In this study we use a set of relevant input and output data in 2015 for a set of 54 cities, towns and villages in Hokkaido Prefecture, so as to evaluate and compare their territorial tourism efficiency by means of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). We introduce a double-track efficiency approach, based on domestic tourism efficiency and inbound tourism efficiency. We find, on the one hand, that inbound efficiency scores and time distance from the tourism hub city (Sapporo) do not show a statistically significant outcome, while, on the contrary, domestic efficiency scores and time distance from the tourism hub city show statistically significant results. On the other hand, inbound efficiency scores and time distance from the nearest airport are statistically significant, whereas domestic efficiency scores and time distance from the nearest airport are not statistically significant. From the results, it is inferred that an improvement of both access to regional airports and of the frequency of international flights to regional airports may have a positive effect on inbound tourism and rural development in Hokkaido.