Neighborhood Spatio-Temporal Impacts of SDG 8.9: The Case of Urban and Rural Exhibition-Driven Tourism by Multiple Methods

Rural arts events (triennials/festivals) are mainly aimed at local and regional revitalization. This exhibition-driven tourism (unlike traditional festivals, conferences, and exhibitions) has existed for more than 20 years in Japan. The curators of exhibition-driven tourism hope that these events can promote the economy and stop population decline as a result of the aging population. Therefore, this paper attempts to evaluate the effects of urban and rural arts event tourism in local and neighborhood areas in Niigata, Japan from the perspective of SDG 8.9. The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial and Water and Land Niigata Art Festival were chosen as case studies. Panel data (1997–2019) concerning tourists, income, and population in Niigata were evaluated using multiple empirical methods with descriptive correlation statistics (simple linear regression (SLR) and one-way ANOVA) and spatial analysis (Moran’s I). Through multiple-method analysis, the positive impacts of urban and rural arts event tourism in local and neighborhood areas in relation to Sustainable Development Goal 8.9 were evaluated. The findings presented herein have meaningful implications for tourism academia and the industry in general.