As Japan throws open its doors to visitors this week after more than two years of pandemic isolation, hopes for a tourism boom face tough headwinds amid shuttered shops and a shortage of hospitality workers.
to dozens of countries, ending some of world's strictest border controls to slow the spread of COVID-19. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is counting on tourism to help invigorate the economy and reap some benefits from the yen's slide to a 24-year low.
Kishida said last week the government is aiming to attract 5 trillion yen in annual tourist spending. But that goal may be too ambitious for a sector that has atrophied during the pandemic. Hotel employment slumped 22% between 2019 and 2021, according to government data. Satherley, whose son lives in the northern island of Hokkaido, said she would like to return with her granddaughter this winter but probably won't because the child is too young to be vaccinated, a prerequisite for tourists entering Japan.Amina Collection Co has shut its three souvenir shops at Narita and is unlikely to reopen them until next spring, said president Sawato Shindo.
Japan still strongly encourages that people wear masks indoors and refrain from loud talking. The Cabinet on Friday approved changing hotel regulations so that they can refuse guests who do not obey infection controls during an outbreak. In Kawaguchiko, a lake town at the foot of Mt. Fuji, inns had difficulty staffing before the pandemic amidand they anticipate a similar bottleneck now, said a trade group staffer who asked not to be identified.
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