Strategies of Destination Management Organizations in Urban and Rural Areas: Using Text Analysis Method for SWOT Descriptions at Meta-level

ABSTRACT Destination management organizations (DMOs) are gaining salience among stakeholders as actors that can develop and enable sustainable tourism by coordinating local actors and tourism resources. This study conducted a comparative analysis of DMOs in Japan using data of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analyses from the official documents to identify the urban and rural characteristics of DMOs. Correspondence analysis was applied to the DMOs. Similarities and differences between urban and rural DMOs were detected in terms of SWOT and their social and ecological contexts, and the results imply there is room for collaboration between urban and rural DMOs.