Analysis of the Distribution of Foreign Tourists to Japan and the Risk of Earthquake Disaster: Study Using Mobile Location Data

The COVID-19 pandemic is now coming to an end in Japan, and the number of foreign tourists, which had declined significantly since 2020, is recovering. Particularly in Tokyo, Ishikawa, Kochi, and Fukuoka prefectures, the maximum number of foreign tourists per month in 2023 has already exceeded the one before the COVID-19 pandemic. Beside the number of foreign tourists to Japan is estimated to continue to increase in the future. Therefore, it is expected that tourism measures targeting foreign tourists to Japan will improve nationwide. However, due to cultural and environmental differences, there are many challenges in developing tourism measures for foreign tourists to Japan. One of challenges is a lack of disaster reduction plan focused on foreign tourists to Japan. It is very necessary because a lot of foreign tourists are not familiar with Japanese geography and disaster prevention knowledge. Therefore, in this study, the relationship between the distribution of foreign tourists to Japan and the risk of disasters is examined. It is conducted by using the KDDI Location Analyzer, which can examine the number and attributes of foreign tourists to Japan staying in any areas or facilities. The target area of this study is Kanazawa City, which attracts the largest number of foreign tourists to Japan in Ishikawa Prefecture. As a result of this study, the behavioral trends of foreign tourists to Japan in Kanazawa City and areas with high risk of disasters that require disaster prevention measures for tourism were clarified.