Exploring factors influencing Koreans’ intention to visit Japan through decision tree analysis: focusing on discharge of ALPS-treated water and low-yen perception

In this study, factors influencing Koreans’ intention to visit Japan were examined using a decision tree. It is known that a negative national image generally adversely affects the intention to visit tourist destinations. Japan and Korea have maintained various political, economic and historical conflicts from the past. However, Koreans accounted for the largest proportion of tourists visiting Japan. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the decision-making process for Koreans’ intention to visit Japan and analyse the priority of influencing factors using a decision tree. As a result of the analysis, low-yen perception, historical animosity, interest in treated water, cultural familiarity and age were identified as major influencing factors. These results confirm that changes in Koreans’ perceptions of Japan are progressing despite the fact that the anti-Japanese sentiment towards Japan still exists. Such changes are affecting the selection of tourist destinations. This study is significant in that it considers factors influencing international tourism demand from various perspectives by inputting various predictive variables such as politics, economy, social culture and so on.