Language Needs of Korean Travelers to Japan To discover the actual situation and needs of Korean tourists to Japan To discern the “ hidden language needs ” of potential Korean tourists to Japan To determine the awareness of Koreans of Kumamoto

The Questionnaire  Locations: Taegu, Pusan, other  Ages:  %  %  %  %  50- 3%

Part 1 Actual Number of Korean tourists in Japan and Kumamoto =Kumamoto ’ s increase of Korean tourists is over twice the national average increas e Japan % Kumamot o 28,86059,74185,21499,011106,728370%

Have you been to Japan? Do you want to visit Japan (again)?  60% of Koreans surveyed have been to Japan, and almost all (96%) would like to go (again).  Only 13% of Korean visitors have been to Kyushu, whereas 23% indicated they would like to go to Kyushu (again).

How do you like to travel? tours 3% free time/short term 71% backpacking/ longer term 26%  This, in spite of the fact that most Korean travelers to Kumamoto come by plane, (cf in 2004-> in 2005) and most of these come on tours!

What do you like to do/see most when traveling?  History, local food and nature rated highest. Good to know when planning advertising strategies!  Shopping rated only 6%.

What do you think the biggest difficulty would be in traveling to Japan?  Cost was the biggest factor — good for Kumamoto with its yen business hotels and relatively cheap hot springs  Between them, cost and language accounted for 71% of the total.

Part II The “ hidden linguistic needs ” of potential Korean tourists to Japan and Kumamoto Note the inverse trends: (1) Most people rated themselves as fair or poor at English (2) Most people rated themselves as good or none at Japanese How is your language ability?

What language(s) did you/would you expect to use in Japan? Do you think you can use English in Japan?  Almost ½ of Korean visitors plan to use Japanese in Korea, but over ½ think they can use English “ a little ”

If Korean/English were used in advertising/menus, would you be more likely to use the business?  Advertising/literature in Korean is a key factor for over 85% of Korean tourists, but advertising in English “ will do ” for over half of the potential visitors.

Have you heard of Kumamoto ?  Yes 67% If so, where? Castle 53 % Aso 38 % Kikuchi4% Amakusa3% Yamaga1% Kurokawa1% Part III Awareness of Kumamoto in Korea

CONCLUSIONS  Kumamoto, with it ’ s nature, history and unique food, should be appealing to Korean visitors  More travellers should come to Kumamoto if  1. they know it is an inexpensive and attractive destination  2. they feel secure about the language  Ability in Korean is a key factor, but ability in English will do for over half of the potential visitors.