Content of research

With the growing interest in the Japanese version of DMO, tourism associations are now expected to play a leading role in the promotion of tourism in the region. However, tourism associations were originally formed for the purpose of resource management, such as conservation associations or trade associations of tourism-related businesses. Therefore, for the tourism association to become a DMO, it has to undergo fundamental changes as an organization. This study examines the nature of such changes from an organizational perspective.
For example, in the field of organization theory, it is said that certainty in consensus building and the means to achieve goals can define the strategy that a leader should adopt, and we believe that these theories can also be applied to tourism associations. By identifying the leaders in a tourism association, their strategies, and how to control the organization based on the organizational structure and culture, we can conduct practical research on how to develop a tourism association into a DMO.

Potential for social implementation

• ・Review of the state of tourism associations
• ・Establishment of a system to promote inbound tourism
• ・Development cooperation in the tourism sector
• ・Comparative study of DMOs

Appealing points to industry and local governments

We are engaged in empirical research of the establishment of DMOs and the development of tourism strategies, not only in Japan, but also in Spain, Mexico, Ethiopia and various other foreign regions.