J a p a n e s e    C u l t u r e

Long known for their participation in group tours, due, it is claimed to their being collectivist, the Japanese and other East Asians have turned the tables in the rankings of Independent Travel Tourism.

In the most recent data I could find (Canadian Tourism Commission, 2009a, 2009b, 2009c, 2009d, 2009e, 2009f, 2009g, 2009h, 2009i, 2009j, 2009k), that regarding overseas travel to Canada in 2008, East Asian tourists are now the most likely to be travelling alone. While less likely to travel with a spouse, the Japanese are (together with Australians) the most likely to be travelling in groups of two or less.

In Japan there is a long tradition of travelling on ones own, to appreciate the piquant lonliness (sabi) of the travel (tabi) experience. In the21st century 60% of walkers on the most famous pilgrimage route in Japan, the Shikoku Henro, travel alone (MacGregor, 2002, p17).

Bibliography (created Automatically Using Zotero)
Canadian Tourism Commission. (2009a). Australia Tourism Market Profile: 2009 update. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Author. Retrieved from en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Resear...
Canadian Tourism Commission. (2009b). Brazil: 2009 market analysis. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Author. Retrieved from en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Resear...
Canadian Tourism Commission. (2009c). China Tourism Market Profile: 2009 update. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Author. Retrieved from en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Resear...
Canadian Tourism Commission. (2009d). France Tourism Market Profile: 2009 update. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Author. Retrieved from en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Resear...
Canadian Tourism Commission. (2009e). German Tourism Market Profile: 2009 update. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Author. Retrieved from en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Resear...
Canadian Tourism Commission. (2009f). India: 2009 market analysis. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Author. Retrieved from en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Resear...
Canadian Tourism Commission. (2009g). Japan Tourism Market Profile: 2009 Update. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Author. Retrieved from en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Resear...
Canadian Tourism Commission. (2009h). Japan Tourism Market Profile: 2009 Update. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Author. Retrieved from en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Resear...
Canadian Tourism Commission. (2009i). South Korea Tourism Market Profile: 2009 update. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Author. Retrieved from en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Resear...
Canadian Tourism Commission. (2009j). United Kingdom Tourism Market Profile: 2009 update. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Author. Retrieved from en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Resear...
Canadian Tourism Commission. (2009k). United States Leisure Tourism Market Profile: 2009 update. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Author. Retrieved from en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Resear...
MacGregor, F. (2002). Shikoku Henro: A study of Japanese and western pilgrims on the Shikoku Eighty-Eight Sacred Places Pilgrimage (MA Thesis). The University of Sheffield.

Labels: collectivism, individualism, japanese culture, nihobunka, nihonbunka, 個人主義, 日本文化, 集団主義