‘Cool Japan’: Anime, soft power and Hong Kong generation Y travel to Japan

ABSTRACT

The ‘Cool Japan’ strategy was launched in 2012 as a ‘soft-power’ initiative to promote the unique culture of Japan. Tourism motivated by Japanese animation, or anime, plays an important role in this campaign. While this aspect of Japanese popular culture has been a particular element of attraction, especially for youth travelers, little is known empirically about the degree to which it actually motivates desire to travel to Japan. This paper examines the influence of anime on Hong Kong Generation Y travel to Japan. Based on a quantitative approach, respondents were divided into four clusters – enthusiastic, interested, low viewers, and indifferent – distinguished by varying degrees of interest in anime and corresponding travel motivation. This study contributes to the existing literature by elucidating how anime serves as a travel motivator, proposing a conceptual framing of the relation between anime consumption and travel to Japan in terms of ‘soft power,’ the application of cultural ideas and artifacts to encourage positive associations with a country and its values. The findings have implications for destination marketing organization in developing anime products and events that meet the unique needs and preferences of different groups of anime fans, constituting different potential tourism subniches.

摘要

酷日本政策由2012年提出作为一种软实力倡议去推广日本独特的文化。在这个倡议之下，日本动画或者动漫作为一个重要角色来吸引游客。作为日本流行文化，它逐渐成为独特的吸引力，特别是对于年轻的游客来说。但是究竟这种因素有多大程度吸引游客去日本旅游的，却鲜为人知。这篇文章探究了动漫在香港Y世代去日本旅游的影响。利用定量分析发现受访者根据不同程度对动漫的兴趣而促使他们去旅游的人主要分为四类：热情的、有兴趣的、低观察者和冷漠的。这个研究为现有的文献阐明了动漫是如何被用作一个旅游动机，并为动漫消费，相对于软实力而言的日本旅游，由文化概念和产物的应用提升一个国家及其价值的积极影响这几个方面的关系提出一个概念性的框架。研究结果为旅游目的地营销组织开发满足不同动漫粉丝的需求和喜好的动漫产品和活动,并发展不同的潜力子市场产生重要影响。

KEYWORDS:

• Soft power
• anime
• tourist motivation
• generation Y
• Hong Kong
• Japan

关键词:

• 软实力
• 动漫
• 游客动机
• Y世代
• 香港
• 日本

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Agyeiwaah

Elizabeth Agyeiwaah was a PhD Candidate in School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 17 Science Museum Road, TST East, Hong Kong.

Wantanee Suntikul

Wantanee Suntikul is an Assistant Professor in School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 17 Science Museum Road, TST East, Hong Kong. Email: [email protected]

Li Yee Shan Carmen

Li Yee Shan Carmen was a student in School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 17 Science Museum Road, TST East, Hong Kong.