2017 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Protecting international tourists from harm: Developing an effective tourist hazard information system
| Project/Area Number |
17H02250
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| Research Institution | Wakayama University |
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Principal Investigator |
Ritchie Brent 和歌山大学, 国際観光学研究センター, 特別主幹教授 (70786095)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
吉野 孝 和歌山大学, システム工学部, 教授 (90274860)
佐野 楓 和歌山大学, 観光学部, 准教授 (60707298)
永井 隼人 和歌山大学, 観光学部, 講師 (80784280)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
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| Keywords | インバウンド・ツーリズム / ツーリスト / リスクマネジメント |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
This research project aims to understand international tourists’ hazard information search behaviour before and during their visits to Japan. In addition, the project aims to develop and propose hazard information support systems for protecting them from harm. During FY2017, which was the first year of the four-year project, the research team first attempted to refine the focus of the study by conducting a literature review on related topics such as tourism risk management and consumer behaviour, and by visiting and discussing with tourism stakeholders and researchers. Based on these activities, the research team developed an interview guide for conducting face-to-face interviews with international tourists visiting Japan in order to explore their knowledge about natural hazards in Japan and their hazard information search behaviour. The initial interview guide was further developed after conducting pre-tests. The research team made all necessary arrangements for conducting face-to-face interviews at an international airport; however, due to unexpected delays in preparation, including selecting an interview site and gaining permissions from the authorities, the actual interviews were scheduled for the beginning of FY2018. In addition to the above activities, the research team has started to develop ideas for development of hazard information support systems (i.e. smart phone applications) for international tourists. Actual development of the two applications was implemented later in FY2017.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
Reflecting the research activities during FY2017, the research team declares that the research project has been carried out without serious obstacles or major revision of the original research plan. However, as explained above, the arrangements for conducting the face-to-face interviews with international tourists required more time than it was initially expected. Therefore, the project is slightly behind its original schedule. However, the project is still on track, and the research team expects to make up for this delay during FY2018. During FY2017, a total of six presentations were made at both domestic and international academic conferences. Of these six presentations, two were made at tourism-related conferences (including one in Australia) and the other four were made at conferences in the field of information systems. These activities allowed the research team to receive valuable feedback from other experts for improving and carrying out the current research project.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
For FY2018, the research team first aims to refine the conceptual framework and develop specific hypotheses for the study based on the results of the literature review and analysis of the qualitative data collected from the international tourists. The research team will then conduct a large-scale quantitative study using a questionnaire survey to empirically test the hypotheses. The findings from both the qualitative and quantitative analyses will inform the actual development of the information support systems. In addition to the research activities described above, the research team continues to develop the hazard information support systems for international tourists. The research team also aims to present the findings from the study at key conferences in tourism, information systems and other related fields in order to disseminate the findings and to seek feedback from experts in their fields. The research team then aims to submit research papers to relevant academic journals.
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