- Japan’s borders remain closed to tourists, and the Omicron variant has further disrupted the recovery of inbound tourism.
- Hotel bankruptcies are comparatively high, signalling that many players are financially distressed.
- The luxury hotel sector has garnered the attention of many brands that are looking to expand their footprint into the market.
- Hotels saw some recovery in occupancy in the second half of 2021 even without the aid of the “Go To” Travel program.
- Investment volumes in the hotel sector were on par with the previous year and are expected to increase in 2022.
- Opportunities in the Japanese hotel market are likely to further emerge in the near future.
Opportunities amidst the uncertainty
GRAPH 1 | Occupancy rates by hotel type in Japan, 2019 to November 2021
While domestic tourism has seen some recovery, times are tough for the hotel industry, with increasing bankruptcies and delayed recovery due to new variants. However, opportunistic investors still see this as a chance to enter or expand into the Japanese hotel market.
Savills Research & Consultancy