Tourism and Counterurbanization in a Low-Amenity Peripheral Island: A Longitudinal Study at Yakushima Island in Kagoshima, Japan

Rie Usui, Carolin Funck and Ifeoluwa B. Adewumi
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Rie Usui: Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima 7398522, Japan
Carolin Funck: Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima 7398522, Japan
Ifeoluwa B. Adewumi: Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima 7398521, Japan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-21

Abstract: This research explored the long-term relation between tourism development and counterurbanization in a remote island in Japan, as the longevity of in-migrants’ role in low-amenity tourism destinations has been questioned. Using data collected over 10 years at Yakushima Island, the study investigated the island’s population trend, in-migrants’ motivation for relocation, their contributions to tourism, and the lives on the island. The results showed that the trend of population growth differed among Yakushima’s 24 villages likely because of accessibility, proximity to tourism attractions, the weather, and housing availability. Yakushima’s natural environment was the key factor in in-migrants’ migration choice. Encounters and connections with people on the island were found to be another important factor. In-migrants introduced ecotours as an innovation in the 1990s, and thereafter, many in-migrants moved to Yakushima with high aspirations of becoming tour guides. Tourism stagnated starting in 2008, and some in-migrants began moving out of the island. Despite the overall downward trend of tourism, an increase in international tourists created a niche market before the COVID-19 pandemic, attracting foreign in-migrants as tourism entrepreneurs in recent years. Similar to the main driver for Japanese in-migrants’ relocation, nature was also the main motivation for international tourists’ relocation.

Keywords: counterurbanization; tourism development; nature-based tourism; Yakushima Island; peripheral island; low amenity; longitudinal study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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