Study on the Factors Influencing Destination Involvement : A Case of Tourists in Okinawa, Japan-

In this study, I investigate how tourists’ interests affect tourist psychology and behavior. The concept of “interest” in consumer behavior research is used to define tourist “involvement”. The level of involvement of tourists who visited Okinawa, Japan, is measured and the relationship between their level of involvement and tourist psychology and behavior was examined. The following results were obtained: (1) the number of visits, intention to relocate, travel planning period, and satisfaction differed depending on the level of involvement; (2) the high involvement group showed a high tendency toward all; (3) the low involvement group showed a low tendency in terms of number of visits, intention to relocate, and satisfaction; and (4) the medium involvement group’s level of satisfaction and migration intentions are compared with that of other groups, the intermediate trend, travel planning period was shorter than for the high involvement group. The findings indicated that the high involvement group visited Okinawa more frequently, showed a greater willingness to relocate, was highly satisfied with their visits, and schedule their visits further in advance, making them important and “royal customers” for tourist destinations.