Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Culture and Sustainable Development (ICOCAS 2025)

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Drivers of Overtourism in Kyoto: A Qualitative Exploration Based on Dodds and Butler’s Framework

Authors
Rochimatus Sa’adah1, Ichlasul Ayyub1, *
1Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University, Semarang, 50275, Indonesia
*Corresponding author. Email: ichlasulayyub@lecturer.undip.ac.id
Corresponding Author
Ichlasul Ayyub
Available Online 19 December 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-503-4_29How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Overtourism; Kyoto; enablers; qualitative analysis; sustainable tourism
Abstract

This study explores the enablers of overtourism in Kyoto, Japan, a city renowned for its rich cultural and historical heritage. The surge in global tourism has significantly impacted Kyoto, leading to overcrowding, environmental degradation, and tensions with local residents. The purpose of this research is to identify and describe the factors that enable overtourism in Kyoto using the framework proposed by Dodds and Butler. A qualitative descriptive method was employed, relying on literature reviews from governmental reports, journal articles, and official tourism data. The key findings indicate that the enablers include affordable travel due to the emergence of low-cost carriers, the rise of new tourist groups driven by visa relaxations, a growth-focused mindset among stakeholders, short-term economic priorities, the development of extensive tourism facilities, and the widespread dissemination of travel information through digital media. These enablers reflect a misbalance between economic benefits and socio-cultural sustainability, highlighting the urgent need for more strategic tourism management in Kyoto. This study contributes to the understanding of overtourism dynamics and offers insights for policymakers and tourism managers to develop more sustainable strategies.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Culture and Sustainable Development (ICOCAS 2025)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
19 December 2025
ISBN
978-2-38476-503-4
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-503-4_29How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Rochimatus Sa’adah
AU  - Ichlasul Ayyub
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/19
TI  - Drivers of Overtourism in Kyoto: A Qualitative Exploration Based on Dodds and Butler’s Framework
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Culture and Sustainable Development (ICOCAS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 234
EP  - 241
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-503-4_29
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-503-4_29
ID  - Sa’adah2025
ER  -