The impact of the Chinese government’s call to avoid travel to Japan has now spread across the country. Data from private accommodation management systems show that hotel reservations from Chinese travelers have recently dropped by half. Although this has not yet triggered a decline in room rates, the Lunar New Year holiday in February is approaching, and if the situation persists, it could become a major drag on regional economies and the tourism sector in Japan.
According to tripla, which operates a reservation management system for accommodation providers, the number of hotel bookings from China during the week following the travel advisory (Nov. 21–27) fell by roughly 57% compared with Nov. 6–12.
In terms of total booking volume, this translated into a decline of about 9%. Increased demand from Japan’s domestic travelers and visitors from countries other than China partially offset the drop in Chinese bookings.
In a survey on hotel occupancy trends released on Nov. 28, the Kyoto City Tourism Association noted that “some accommodation facilities in Kyoto have also seen cancellations.” If the number of Chinese guests is cut in half, the expected hotel occupancy rate for November is projected to fall by 3 percentage points year-on-year to 84.4%.
The impact is even more pronounced in Osaka. At a press conference on Nov. 27, Hiroshi Mizohata, president of the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau, said that based on a survey of about 20 hotels in the prefecture, 50-70% of reservations from Chinese guests through the end of December had been canceled.
Kansai Airport, which operates Kansai International, Osaka International (Itami), and Kobe airports, reported that the number of winter flights linking China and Kansai—previously 525—will drop to 348 in the second week of December. From next year onward, this figure is expected to remain about 28% lower on average.
