Microdata analysis of the accommodation survey in Japanese tourism statistics

Abstract

The Accommodation Survey in Japanese Tourism Statistics is a quarterly survey conducted by the Japan Tourism Agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The aim of the survery is to capture a whole picture of monthly travel and tourism trends in Japan and obtain data to inform for Japanese tourism policies. Data collected include the total number of travelers, the number of foreign travelers with their nationality and the number of Japanese travelers with their residential prefecture. These data are collected from hotels, inns, and other private and public accommodations listed in the establishment frame database defined in Article 27 of the Statistics Act. In this study, the 1-km grid square statistics data were generated by using micro-data from 50,802 accommodations that took place from January 2013 to June 2014 (18 months); use of this data is in accordance with Article 33 of the Statistics Act. These data were analyzed for spatio-temporal patterns of Japanese travel trends. The 1-km grid square statistics data were computed by converting postal addresses into geographical information expressed as latitude and longitude and encoding it into 1-km grid square code standardized in JIS X0410. The relationships between the total number of travelers and the total number of foreign travelers in each 1-km grid square were clarified. It was confirmed that the power-law relationship between the number of travelers and the number of foreign travelers exists. The power-law exponent is greater than 1 for 15 months of the observation period. This implies that foreign travelers tend to choose accommodations concentrated in several areas, including areas in which Japanese travelers frequently visit and stay. Furthermore, Japanese travelers tend to stay in some areas close to their residence prefecture.