Demand opportunities from growth in international visitors to Japan and the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games

「In the hotel industry, domestic leisure and inbound demand overall remained firm, supported by the demand-boosting effect of the Osaka-Kansai Expo and the number of international visitors to Japan reaching a record high of 42.68 million in 2025.」

「In the hotel industry, domestic leisure and inbound demand overall remained firm, supported by the positive impact of the Osaka-Kansai Expo and the number of international visitors to Japan exceeding 30 million by September on a cumulative basis, the fastest pace on record.」

「Going forward, nationwide business lodging demand is unlikely to increase significantly as web conferencing becomes established. Lodging demand for tourism and leisure, however, is expected to remain firm despite the impact of recent price increases, supported in part by the Osaka-Kansai Expo. The number of visitors to Japan also continues to trend upward and is expected to provide stable underlying support for lodging demand.」

「In the hotel industry, domestic business demand has not returned to pre-pandemic levels due to the spread of web conferencing and other factors, while leisure demand has remained around pre-pandemic levels and inbound demand above pre-pandemic levels. Both are expected to remain firm going forward.」

「Inbound demand has increased steadily since June, following the easing of border control measures, reaching 106.3% of the level in the same period of 2019 during the most recent January-to-March period, above pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, according to the Japan Tourism Agency's Travel and Tourism Consumption Trend Survey, the number of domestic overnight travelers for tourism and recreation has generally recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Business use for travel and work, however, remained well below pre-pandemic levels at 81.0% of the 2019 level during the latest period for which figures were available, April to December, due to the impact of digitalization, including the spread of web conferencing.」

「In the hotel industry, business demand has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, while leisure demand has become more active and recovered to those levels. Inbound demand also increased excluding China, exceeding pre-pandemic levels at 2,734,000 international visitors to Japan in December 2023, or 108.2% of the level in the same month of 2019, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.」

「In the hotel industry, although the recovery in business demand has been slow, leisure demand has recovered to pre-pandemic levels. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, the number of international visitors to Japan in September 2023 was 2,184,000, or 96.1% of the level in September 2019, approaching pre-pandemic levels even though the return of visitors from China to Japan remained incomplete. (The number of visitors from China to Japan in September 2023 was 325,000, or 39.8% of the level in September 2019.)」

「In the hotel industry, although the recovery in business demand has been slow, leisure demand has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, supported in part by tourism promotion programs such as the nationwide travel subsidy program. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, the number of international visitors to Japan in June 2023 was 2,073,000, or 72% of the level in the same month of 2019, and inbound demand also remained on a recovery trend.」

「While domestic leisure and inbound lodging demand is expected to expand, business lodging demand is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels.」

「In the hotel industry, domestic tourism travel and demand related to concerts and sporting events have recovered since the nationwide travel subsidy program began in October. Inbound demand is also expected to recover, as it has become more active excluding China following the removal of the cap on the number of arrivals.」

「In the hotel industry going forward, leisure lodging demand is expected to receive a boost from the nationwide travel subsidy program beginning in October, the lifting of the ban on independent travel to Japan, and the removal of the cap on the number of arrivals.」

「Although tourism demand in the hotel industry is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels, business demand is not expected to fully return and the recovery in inbound demand is expected to take some time. Consequently, the possibility remains that significant operating losses and net losses will be incurred in the current fiscal year, as in the previous fiscal year.」

「The outlook for the impact of COVID-19 on the economy remains uncertain. In the hotel industry, tourism and leisure demand is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels, but business demand is not expected to fully return, and the recovery in inbound tourism is expected to take a long time.」

「Although the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were held, their impact on the hotel industry was limited overall to lodging demand from people involved in the events. Overall, demand remained challenging without recovering, as people continued to refrain from travel and restrictions on dining remained in place.」

「In the hotel industry, supply and demand conditions have become more challenging as the supply of newly built hotels has increased. In addition, the number of visitors to Japan from overseas turned negative year on year from August, affected by worsening Japan–South Korea relations.」

「According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the year-on-year growth rate in the number of international visitors to Japan turned negative in August. Although the number increased in September due to the Rugby World Cup, it again remained negative from October onward, and the deterioration in Japan-South Korea relations, which became apparent around July, has affected the decline in visitors to Japan from South Korea.」

「The increase in international visitors to Japan and the holding of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games are expected to continue having a positive impact.」