Global value chain in services: The case of tourism in Japan

This paper assesses the role of global value chains (GVCs) in services and identifies the sector’s contributions towards the expansion of the Japanese economy. Specifically, the analysis focuses on the tourism sector in Japan, which has been witnessing rapid growth in recent years. Tourism is also a highly tradeable sector that, directly or indirectly, affects various services industries like transport, retail, wholesale, restaurant, agricultural production, inter alia. In order to better understand the sector, the paper develops its GVC map and estimates the ripple effects of the inbound tourism boom on Japan’s economic development using an Input-Output (I-O) table.