دانلود رایگان مقاله مقررات زدایی هوانوردی گردشگری بین المللی

3. Data and research method

Surveys, statistics, and econometrics are the typical methods used to assess the effects of aviation deregulation on tourism industries and international tourism flows (Dobruszkes et al., 2015). This study uses the method of statistics by using two sets of time series aviation data, which were provided by the MLIT: (1) International charter traffic data, to and from Japan, and (2) International scheduled services data, to and from Japan. The study period is from fiscal year 2003 (Apr. 1, 2003eMar. 31, 2004) to fiscal year 2013 (1 Apr., 2013eMar. 31, 2014). Due to the limited amount of traffic, assessment of the effects of charters is difficult to achieve simply because the share of charters is currently less than three percent. Therefore, this study compares various aspects of charter and scheduled services, mainly including traffic amount, routes, airports services, and networks. This paper assesses the characteristics and geographical dimensions of charter route network in Japan-Korea, Japan-Taiwan and Japan-China. Because Taiwan is the biggest charter market to Japan, it is selected to analyse the effects of the deregulation on charter traffic to Japan's regional areas. Three types of passenger charters were operating in Japan: own-use charter, affinity charter and inclusive tour charters (ITC). Currently, the primary type of air charters in Japan-Korea, Japan-Taiwan and Japan-China markets are inclusive tour charters. According to the MLIT, an inclusive tour charter (ITC) refers to the charter of an entire aircraft by one or more tour operators, which combines the round-trip seats with hotel or other accommodations to sell a “package tour” to tourists at a single price.

8. Discussion and conclusion

This study explores the extent to which aviation deregulation has affected charter business in Northeast Asia and the extent to which charter deregulation has affected international tourism, especially inbound tourism flows to Japan's peripheral areas. This study pulls together a wide range of factual materials to answer those two key questions, focusing on the carriers, airports served, routes, and spatial coverage of charter network. The results reveal that Japan's aviation deregulation has brought profound changes to the charter business in following aspects: Firstly, the deregulation has caused a shift of charter carriers in most routes from the traditional network to LCCs or regional carriers. Now, LCCs and regional airlines are primary providers of charters. By offering competitive prices and sufficient seats, the new entrants have launched charters on routes that connect metropolitan cities with remote island or areas, such as ShanghaiSaga, Soule-Tusima or Taipei-Ishigaki, making the price of charter tours cheaper than before.