Chapter 1 From souvenirs to experiences and networking Consumer culture and intangiblization of Japanese craft tourism
DOI: 10.23912/Hardback-5813 | ISBN: Hardback |
Published: August 2024 | Component type: chapter |
Published in: Emerging Trends in Consumer Behaviour in the Service Sector | Parent DOI: 10.23912/Hardback-5756 |
Abstract
This chapter aims to discuss how changes in consumer culture induce transformations
of commodified cultures. By exploring the case studies of Japanese
craft tourism, it will be argued that a new style of craft tourism with an emphasis
on experience and personal networking is on the rise. The penetration of the
experiential economy has triggered not only the change of craft tourism but
also the diversification of craft culture itself, namely by a phenomenon that can
be called the ‘intangiblization’ (Yamagishi, 2023) of craft culture.
This chapter consists of five sections. After the introduction, the next section
briefly explains the trends and shifts in contemporary Japanese consumer culture
and some important sociocultural contexts in which those changes have
occurred. The third section discusses how the changes in consumer cultures
have provoked a rise in a new style of craft tourism. By looking at the case
of Takaoka Craft Tourism, it will be argued that experience and networking
opportunities have been newly commodified as tourism attractions. The fourth
section will capture the transformations of craft culture in today’s experience
economy from three aspects: reconstruction of producer-consumer relationships;
intangiblization of traditional craft culture; and democratization of traditional
craft culture. The last section will be the concluding remarks.
Note that the arguments made in this chapter only apply to one of the many
aspects of contemporary craft tourism in Japan.
Sample content
Contributors
- Yukari Yamagishi, Hokkaido University (Author)
For the source title:
- Saloomeh Tabari, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, UK (Editor) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0645-4789
- Nazan Colmekcioglu, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, UK (Editor) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9041-4044
- Wei Chen, Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, UK. (Editor)
Cite as
Yamagishi, 2024
Yamagishi, Y. (2024) "Chapter 1 From souvenirs to experiences and networking Consumer culture and intangiblization of Japanese craft tourism" In: Tabari, S., , , Colmekcioglu, N., , , Chen, W. & , (ed) . Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers http://dx.doi.org/10.23912/Hardback-5813
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