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2016/07/06
Japan’s Soaring Travel Industry Driving Investment Boom
   

For Immediate Release

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made the tourism industry a new pillar of the economy to help shake off decades of weak economic growth. The sector is undergoing tremendous growth and will require a steady flow of investment in new hotels and tourism facilities to keep up with demand.

Last year, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan soared 47% from 2014 to reach a record 19.7 million. The growth could be said to be coming off a low base, as in 2011, just 6.22 million visitors travelled to Japan. Most visitors head for Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and other popular cities. To ease the strain on limited hotel rooms, the government is trying to attract more tourists to visit other regions such as Hokkaido, Chubu and Tohoku in the northeast.

“Besides the new boom in tourists, Japan will also need to accommodate the millions of people who will visit the country for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. All of this means there is a dire shortage of hotels and travel-related infrastructure in Japan, which also means more opportunities for investors and investment,” said Chamber CEO Shirley Yuen, at the Invest Japan Seminar 2016 held today.

Experts from Japan flew into Hong Kong to explain these rising opportunities at the Seminar. Organized by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the seminar focused on hotel and tourism investment opportunities across the country, but with a focus on Hokkaido, Kyoto, Okinawa and Yokohama.

They said the influx of foreign tourists is providing a boom for the economy and popular cities, as visitors spent a record 3.5 trillion yen (HK$267 billion) in 2015, an increase of over 1.4 trillion yen from the previous year, boosted especially by Chinese tourists.

Japan's Consul General to Hong Kong Kuninori Matsuda, and Tomohiro Takashima, Deputy Director-General, Invest Japan Department, also spoke about foreign direct investmentopportunities in Japanfrom a Hong Kong company’s perspective.

Kiyoshi Tsuchiya, Director, CBRE Hotels, said hotel transaction volumes surged by 50% to 325 billion yen (HK$24.8 billion) in 2015 as did the number of overnight visitors, which hit 505 million in 2015. However, existing hotel room supply is not adequate and major growth is expected. In Tokyo and Osaka, room inventory is predicted to grow by 20-30%. There are also many opportunities beyond traditional city destinations, said Tsuchiya who advised investors to analyze other cities to capture underdeveloped markets.

Officials from the governments of four Japanese cities and regions – Kyoto, Yokohama, Okinawa, and Hokkaido - spoke about the tourism industry and investment opportunities in their respective areas.

Before the seminar, Chamber CEO Shirley Yuen and JETRO Director General Ryoichi Ito signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further expand long-standing cooperation between the two organizations.

“The Chamber has been helping our members identify business opportunities in Japan for decades. So with this MOU, I hope we can expand our cooperation with JETRO to help Hong Kong businesses tap into new areas of growth,” said Yuen.

Ito echoed her comments, adding that, “There has never been a better time for Hong Kong businesses to invest in Japan. The cost of doing business in Japan has fallen significantly in recent years, and besides tourism, we are the world’s third largest economy, contributing 6% of the world’s GDP.”

Photo captions:
Photo 1:
HKGCC CEO Shirley Yuen(right)and JETRO Director General Ryoichi Ito sign an MOU between their two respective organizations at the Chamber’s office on 6 July.

Photo 2:
HKGCC CEO Shirley Yuen (right) and JETRO Director General Ryoichi Ito shake hands after signing an MOU between their two respective organizations at the Chamber’s office on 6 July.
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Media inquiries: Please contact: Ms Milly Lo at 2823-1248 / [email protected]

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