Evaluating Household Leisure Behaviour of Rural Tourism in Japan

Understanding the demand profile of rural tourism is a necessary condition for the successful diversification of any rural economy. Although descriptive analyses have been conducted on this issue, a more generalised framework is required that allows us to explore economic analyses. This paper evaluates the leisure behaviour of households that have a preference for rural tourism in Japan. First, we give conceptual consideration to the notion that leisure behaviour should be regarded as a form of a home production and explain that households that undertake rural tourism have undergone an upward shift in the home production function to realise a higher utility level. We propose that a preference for rural recreation causes this shift by improving the efficiency of the home production of leisure. Second, as an actual behaviour of rural tourism, the characteristics of visitors to pick-your-own farms were statistically tested using data from a nationwide survey on tourism. Finally, the rural preference function was estimated. The results revealed that the profile of households showing a preference for rural tourism demonstrated both up-market and niche market characteristics, which mirrored findings in European countries emphasizing the importance of a higher academic background, stronger orientation towards outdoor recreation, and greater discrimination with respect to the quality of services and goods received. Preference for rural recreation can be enhanced through the provision of authentic, high quality service and goods and the preservation of the rural environment. Therefore, there will be an increased demand for a farm policy that integrates both agricultural and rural measures.