Kyoto conundrum: More hotels than households exist in ancient capital
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Kyoto conundrum: More hotels than households exist in ancient capital

23/05/2025 Osaka Metropolitan University
While moderate touristification can bring economic benefits to cities, overtourism has adverse social effects on residents and visitors. To prevent this, it is necessary to understand the disrupted balance between tourist accommodations and residential housing.

Junior Associate Professor Haruka Kato investigated the spatial patterns and geographic characteristics of tourism-accommodation hotspots in proximity to tourist locations in Kyoto, one of the most famous tourist cities in the world. In this study, the tourism-accommodation intensity index was calculated using the ratio of the number of accommodation rooms to that of households.

The results revealed that tourism-accommodation intensity hotspots emerged across six neighborhood-units in the periphery of the historical city center’s southeastern area. The hotspots indicate areas with a disrupted balance between the number of residences and accommodations. They emerged when the threshold tourism-accommodation intensity score reached 1.0, indicating that the number of rooms had exceeded that of households in these areas. Additionally, this study revealed that tourism-accommodation intensity hotspots were associated with proximity to transportation hubs. This result means that neighborhood-units closer to main stations are more likely to have tourism-accommodation intensity hotspots.

“These findings support the need for effective zoning policies and indicate that the Kyoto municipal government should develop zoning regulation planning for neighborhood-units close to the historical center’s main stations,” said Dr. Kato.

The findings were published in Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights.

Funding
Haruka Kato received funding from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (23K26284) and the Telecommunications Advancement Foundation Research Grant.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no conflicts of interest regarding the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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About OMU
Established in Osaka as one of the largest public universities in Japan, Osaka Metropolitan University is committed to shaping the future of society through the “Convergence of Knowledge” and the promotion of world-class research. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ and follow us on social media: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/
Journal: Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights
Title: Spatial patterns and geographic characteristics of tourism-accommodation intensity hotspots in Kyoto city
DOI: 10.1016/j.annale.2025.100178
Authors: Haruka Kato
Publication date: 19 April 2025
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annale.2025.100178
Attached files
  • Tourists visiting historic Kyoto: The tourism-accommodation intensity index analyzed the imbalance of hotels and households surrounding popular areas in Kyoto. Credit: Haruka Kato, Osaka Metropolitan University
23/05/2025 Osaka Metropolitan University
Regions: Asia, Japan
Keywords: Society, People in Society research, Social Sciences, Business, Property & construction

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