Past Events

It was a pleasure to welcome Seizo Tsuji, Director of the Business Establishment Section, Wakayama Prefecture Government, along with his colleagues, to the Chamber on February 19. They were greeted by HKGCC CEO Patrick Yeung, Asia, Africa & Middle East Committee Chairman Dewan Saiful Alam, Vice Chairman Zaman Minhas Qamar, and Retail & Tourism Committee Vice Chairman Bella Chhoa, who exchanged views on the hotel investment environment in Wakayama Prefecture and the general investment landscape in Japan.

Wakayama Prefecture, located in the Kansai region, is an hour away from Kansai International Airport. Despite its proximity to the metropolis, the prefecture enjoys abundant natural beauty, with a scenic southwest coastline facing the Pacific Ocean, as well as rich traditional culture and craftsmanship. Although the prefecture has attracted a significant number of tourists, particularly from China after COVID-19, only 25% of the 20 million visitors opted to stay overnight. As explained by Tsuji, the prefecture’s hotel industry is dominated by family-owned private onsen hotels, which have limited guest capacity.

To encourage overnight tourism, the Wakayama prefecture government has been working on developing relevant hotel infrastructure, including extending the runway of Nanki-Shirahama Airport to receive international flight by 2035, and offering tax incentives and value-added services to attract luxury global hotel chains to enter Wakayama. Yeung agrees that hotel infrastructure is necessary to capture overnight visitors, especially given the anticipated trend of increasing tourists driven by the depreciation of Japanese Yen. He also suggested that the Wakayama prefecture government consider drawing Gen-Z tourists to stay in by encouraging and regulating Airbnb facilities.