Art tourism and paradigms of island revitalization in Japan

Art tourism in rural destinations in Japan has received attention in both media and academia. Two major regional art festivals that are conducted in a regular cycle have triggered this boom in the 21st century. However, art and cultural tourism have formed an important part of regional revitalization strategies for 30 years. This paper focuses on four island destinations in the Seto Inland Sea that have incorporated art in their branding strategies to examine how shifts in national policies for regional development are reflected in the local context. We examine trends in island research in Japan, paradigm shifts in regional development policies and the role of art tourism in rural revitalization to establish a framework for comparison. Through this framework, we analyze how art tourism is integrated into general development concepts and examine the main actors and the roles of the private sector and residents. We identified two paradigm shifts in the framework of national development plans and laws. Two of our case studies fall into the first phase, where subsidies by the national government form the core of investment for art tourism under the leadership of local mayors but result in different outcomes in terms of success as tourist destinations. On the other hand, two case studies from the latter phase feature a stronger variety of integrated art tourism policies, depending on the engagement of private sector actors and residents. In conclusion, the expansion of art tourism on rural islands reflects a complex interplay of global trends and national development paradigms on the local level.