Japanese tourism industry is in a slump because of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic cancellation (part 1)

The postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games dealt a fatal blow to the tourism industry in general and Japanese hotels in particular, which were reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With tour operators, event sponsors, vendors, studios, the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo has raised concerns about the Japanese economy and the world.

Economists estimate the cost of delaying the 2020 Olympic Games to be between US $ 5.4-18 billion and the cancellation cost ranges from US $ 37-72 billion. The postponement of the world’s leading sporting event shows that the severity of the pandemic is spreading rapidly across many countries and territories. The epidemic has pushed the global economy to the brink of recession, even depression.

This is the first time in 124 years of the Olympics to be delayed in the middle of peacetime. The Summer Olympics were canceled three times in 1916, 1940, 1944 and winter twice, in 1940 and 1944, all due to the war.

Tourism in Japan was delayed

In 2019, 31.9 million people visited Japan, earning US $ 43.6 billion. But in February, when the Covid-19 epidemic spread, many countries closed the border, the number of foreign visitors to Japan decreased by nearly 60% over the same period last year. Analysts predict this is a catastrophic year for the tourism industry.

Aakayuki Miyajima, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute, said they had predicted 34 million foreign visitors to Japan by 2020, but that is definitely not possible anymore.

The organizers of the Olympic Games reserved about 46,000 hotel rooms near the Olympic venue for members of the sports administration and athletes participating in the Games. All booked rooms are canceled.

Eiha Jo, founder of Tokyo-based travel company China Enterprise, said the number of high-class Chinese tourists coming to Japan to play golf and enjoy health care compared to 600. in 2019. The impact of this pandemic on the tourism industry is extremely serious and the Olympic Games being postponed is even worse.

The pandemic devastates cities that rely heavily on tourists, especially those from China like Osaka. Japan Hospitality Association expects a series of mid-range business hotels across the country to declare bankruptcy this year if this situation continues and the government does not intervene.