War Erupts and Japan Faces Trouble... Tourists Rush to Cancel Hotel Reservations

360 European Tourist Reservations Canceled, Including Germany and Italy
Reliance on Middle Eastern Transfers After Bypassing Russian Airspace

The ongoing war situation that unfolded after airstrikes by the United States and Israel on Iran has begun to affect Japan's tourism industry. This is due to a series of reservation cancellations by European tourists who previously traveled to Japan via the Middle East.

According to Yonhap News, citing a report from Japan's Sankei Shimbun on the 7th, travel reservations by European tourists planning to visit Japan are being canceled one after another, as instability in the Middle East continues to spread.

The Hida Takayama Inn and Hotel Cooperative, which is composed of hotels and lodgings in Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, announced that since the airstrikes, there have been ongoing cancellations of accommodation reservations by tourists from European countries such as Germany and Italy. As of the 5th, the number of confirmed cancellations was 59, with more than 360 people affected.

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This phenomenon is known to be related to the structure of flight routes. Since Western European and American airlines became unable to fly over Russian airspace following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European tourists heading to Japan have mainly used long-haul direct flights bypassing Russian airspace or routes that involve transiting through airports in the Middle East.

However, following the recent airstrikes by the United States and Israel on Iran, heightened tensions in the Middle East have disrupted major airport operations and increased concerns about transit routes, leading to a rise in travel cancellations.

A representative of the cooperative expressed concern, saying, "If the war situation continues through the peak spring tourism season, it could deal a serious blow to the local tourism industry."

Last November, in response to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks suggesting the possibility of involvement in the event of a Taiwan contingency, the Chinese government advised its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan. In fact, after that advisory, the number of Chinese tourists to Japan continued to decline, with the number of Chinese visitors in December 2025 falling by 45% compared to the same period a year earlier, and the decline widening to 60% in January 2026.

The newspaper pointed out that, while an increase in long-term stays by European tourists had been expected to compensate for the decrease in Chinese visitors, if even this demand drops, there is a possibility that the entire Japanese tourism industry could contract.

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