Chinese Group Tourists 'Big Spenders' Return After 3 Years... Japan Can't Smile Due to Labor Shortage

China, Japan Group Travel Permitted... Major Spenders Ranked 2nd Visit Japan in Large Numbers
Low Birthrate, Aging, and COVID-19 Lead to Job Changes... Tourism Industry Faces Severe Labor Shortage

As China has permitted group tours from 78 countries worldwide, including South Korea and Japan, Japan?a popular travel destination for Chinese tourists?is also stirring. With group tours lifted for the first time in three years since COVID-19, a large influx of "big spender" yookeo (Chinese tourists) is expected; however, Japan, which is currently facing a labor shortage, lacks sufficient tourism industry personnel to respond effectively.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 11th, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported on the group travel permission announced by China the previous day. This marks the resumption after three and a half years since January 2020. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), approximately 9.59 million visitors from mainland China traveled to Japan in 2019, accounting for about 30% of all foreign visitors to Japan. Among them, group tours made up 30%, making the lifting of the group tour ban essential for industry revival.

In particular, yookeo are considered "big spenders" with strong purchasing power. The Japan Tourism Agency surveyed travel expenditures per visitor from April to June this year and found that Chinese tourists spent 338,000 yen (about 3.07 million KRW) per person, ranking second after the UK (360,000 yen). Nikkei reported, "Compared to other Asian regions such as South Korea and Taiwan, spending is also high."

The presence of yookeo is also significant in the department store industry. The Mainichi Shimbun quoted industry insiders saying, "In 2019, 70-80% of duty-free sales at downtown department stores were all accounted for by yookeo."

Yayoi Sakanaka, chief economist at market research firm Mizuho Research & Technologies, analyzed, "If group tours resume in August, the number of Chinese visitors to Japan for tourism and leisure purposes this year is expected to exceed the average by 1.98 million."

Despite the lifting of the ban, Chinese travel agencies have already started selling group tour packages to Japan, but Japan itself is not in a position to benefit. The labor shortage has worsened due to low birth rates and aging population, and many workers in the travel and tourism sectors have left their jobs due to COVID-19. Japanese media express concern that this could become a risk that slows the recovery of inbound tourism.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) predicts that employment in Japan's travel and tourism sector this year will be 5.6 million, which is 300,000 fewer than before COVID-19 in 2019. The hotel industry is facing a shortage of workers and cannot operate all rooms. According to the U.S. polling firm STR, as of June, the average hotel occupancy rate in Japan was 73%, making full occupancy impossible.

The situation is similar in urban areas. At the Keio Plaza Hotel located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, the number of employees as of the end of June has decreased by nearly 15% compared to the end of March 2020. In response to the labor shortage, the hotel industry plans to introduce check-in kiosks and other measures.

However, there are also views that the recovery trend may slow down more than expected due to issues such as Japan’s announced discharge of contaminated water from nuclear power plants. Nikkei added, "Risks such as China's economic downturn and the discharge of contaminated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant could have an impact."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.