Souvenir Purchase Patterns of Domestic Tourists

Nomura Miki (Last Name) (First) Souvenir purchase patterns of domestic tourists: Case study of Takayama City, Japan (Title) Hospitality and Tourism Dr.Jafar Jafari April 2002 154 (Graduate Major) (Research Advisor) (Month/Year) (No.of Pages) Annals of Tourism Research (Name of Style Manual Used in This Study) The purpose of this study is to identify souvenir purchase patterns of domestic Japanese tourists, focusing on HidaTakayama (Japan), a famous destination. The study site covers about 139.57 hectares with a population of 66,377. According to its tourist information center, in 1999, the city attracted 2,967,000 tourists. Nested among the mountains of Hida and in the past isolated during winter, Takayama has preserved much of its historic charm. It has been called a “little Kyoto” and is set deep within mountains of Gifu Prefecture. Its temples, shrines, festivals, rivers and bridges are indeed reminiscent of Kyoto on a smaller scale, but in some ways Takayama has delights that even Kyoto cannot match. The survey findings, revealing souvenir shopping patterns of tourists visiting Takayama City, suggest that their purchases are influenced by many factors, including prices, weight, size, number, length of shopping time, forms of travel, family income level,