Regional impacts of international tourism boycott: A China—Japan conflict

Theresa M. Greaney and Kozo Kiyota

Economic Inquiry, 2026, vol. 64, issue 2, 409-433

Abstract: We examine the regional impacts of the Sino–Japan dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands that sparked a Chinese consumer boycott of travel to Japan from August 2012. This boycott caused significant and varied regional impacts across Japan. Prefectures that had higher pre‐boycott dependency on Chinese visitors, particularly tourists, experienced the largest negative effects. While the boycott's intensity was strongest in the first 6 months, substantial negative impacts were still observable when averaging across 24 months post‐boycott. Our results demonstrate the importance of diversification across traveler types and countries of origin in providing travel services to mitigate risks from political conflicts.

Date: 2026
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