Foreign tourists' preferences for destination attributes in Japan's national parks: A best-worst scaling analysis

The unbalanced development of national parks and overtourism in some areas is becoming a major problem for nature-based destinations worldwide. Enhancing attractiveness is vital for promoting sustainable national park management and tourism development. Therefore, it is important to assess tourists' preferences regarding destination attractiveness. While many studies have investigated this aspect for specific destinations, limited information is available on the differences in foreign tourists' preferences for destination attractiveness attributes in national parks during the pre-visit stage. A questionnaire survey (n = 750) employing the best-worst scaling technique was used to compare and assess tourists' preferences for destination attractiveness. The survey evaluated preferences across ten attributes, as defined by the framework of Japan's “National Park Enjoyment Project” initiative. Foreign tourists prefer attributes that can be experienced at local destinations. We used the latent class model to group the respondents. This study is unique in that some of its respondents valued safety in tourism over other attributes such as local attractiveness. We also discussed the relationship between destination attribute preferences and sociodemographic variables, travel planning, and tourism information sources. This study provides theoretical insights into public preferences for sustainable nature-based tourism management and practical recommendations for tourism managers seeking effective management strategies.