The role of charter flights in Sino-Japanese tourism

This paper examines the impact of charter services on international tourism in Japan. Particularly, charter flows between Japan and China are analyzed to examine their role in Sino-Japanese tourism. The results show that charters have contributed to geographic spread of tourism destinations in China, and that they meet dispersed and seasonal travel demand from Japanese regions. Scheduled services have not been able to entirely replace charter services, but cause uneven patterns in charter services.

► We examine the impact of charter services on international tourism in Japan. ► We analyze charter flows between Japan and China in term of route and destination. ► Charters have reached locations that were not well served by scheduled flights. ► Charter services meet dispersed and seasonal travel demand from Japanese regions.