40% of Japan tourism companies see no China rebound until 2024: poll

More than 40% of travel and leisure companies surveyed by Nikkei do not expect Chinese visitors to Japan to return to pre-coronavirus levels until at least next year, as a cooling economy and lack of flights offset the revival of group tours. Of the 24 hotel, leisure, air travel and other companies that responded to the poll early this month, 10 said they anticipate a full recovery in 2024 at the earliest. Only one sees a rebound this year. The number of Chinese travelers to Japan between January and August came to only 19% of the 2019 figure for the same period, according to Japan National Tourism Organization data released Wednesday. "We had had hopes for the National Day holiday in October, but we can't expect a dramatic rebound," said the operator of a Tokyo hotel. Ten companies said they did not know when Chinese travelers would return to pre-COVID levels. Japan Airlines raised concerns about the risk that the slowdown in the Chinese economy will delay the recovery in visitors to Japan. The reduced number of flights between the two countries is a factor. Though ANA Holdings' All Nippon Airways is expanding service to and from China, it will be at only 35% of pre-pandemic levels at the end of this month, and less than 50% at the end of October. With air travel capacity still not back to normal, "returning to where we were before the coronavirus will take a some time," said Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide. The lack of flights is even worse for regions beyond Japan's biggest cities. "Kyoto and Osaka are recovering, but flights to regional destinations have been slow to return, so the pace of recovery is sluggish," said JR-West Hotels. Asked about the impact of the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant -- which the Chinese government has condemned -- 46% of respondents said it has had no effect on their business.<br/>