A Study on the Causes and Effects of Stressful Situations in Tourism for Japanese People

Abstract

(1) Numerous studies have been undertaken to investigate the perceived impacts of tourism, particularly from the perspective of local residents. Only a handful have dealt with the coping strategies of this group. In addition, they have largely neglected the successes or failures of the coping strategies and the related consequences. In order to address these gaps, this study aims to investigate the psychological impacts of tourism, focusing on the causes and effects of the negative feelings felt by local residents. (2) Methods: Several qualitative methods, including web archive research, netnography, user-generated content analysis, literature review, and ethnography were employed to gather the necessary data. Japan was selected as the context of this study. (3) Results: This study identified a set of negative feelings and a group of four coping strategies. It also found that the causes of the negative feelings, the bad impacts of tourism, were similar to those in other countries. In addition, the study verified that the effects of the coping strategies were only situational and temporal. (4) Conclusions: Tourism is not stress-free. In order for tourism to sustain, the causes and consequences of its negative impacts must be properly addressed.