A cultural analysis of japanese tourists: challenges for tourism marketers

This paper presents the results of an empirical analysis of the cultural differences between Australian and Japanese populations in a tourism context. The paper argues that the challenge for tourism marketers lies in understanding the cultural make-up of the Japanese market, and developing culture-oriented marketing strategies. The paper identifies the major reasons for the decline in Japanese tourist arrivals to Australia. Further, it briefly compares the Japanese and Western cultural orientation. This is followed by a description and interpretation of the cultural dimensions identified by a principal components analysis. The most critical cultural dimensions and their indicators are determined by a LISREL analysis. The findings show that the key cultural factors influencing Japanese holiday experiences in Australia are culturally determined perceptions of service and interpersonal relations with hosts. The impact of cultural traits on Japanese tourist perceptions of Australian service and interpersonal contact with hosts is presented. The implications of these findings for tourism marketers are discussed.