Hokkaido quake leads to half a million travellers cancelling hotel bookings
The powerful earthquake which struck Hokkaido earlier this month has resulted in as many as 500,000 people to cancel hotel bookings.
The deadly September 6 quake will reslt in losses of at least 10 billion yen for the local economy, according to Koji Hamano, head of the Hokkaido chapter of the Japan Ryokan and Hotel Association.
The Association has collated data from a survey of 1,000 small hotels and inns to come up with the estimate.
Hamano says it will in fact be worse as it surveyed only its members which do not include larger chain hotels.
Tourism is a key industry in the prefecture and Hokkaido welcomed more than 56 million tourists during the last fiscal year, including nearly three million foreign visitors.
"We were on an upward trend, looking to reach 5 million foreign visitors thanks to tourism promotion programs, but this latest development may turn the tide," Hamano said.
We want to inform people that it is safe as the high-demand season of autumn is fast approaching."
According to the Nippon Travel Agency in Sapporo, nearly a third of all September travel packages aimed at the international market will likely be cancelled.
"Cancellations have been reported not only around the epicenter but across the entire prefecture," a NTA spokesperson said.
The earthquake triggered major landslides with more than 40 dead and loss of power over a wide area for days.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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