Society

Cancellations pile up in Japan as virus spreads

Jan 28 (NHK) - Japan's hotel industry is being hit hard by a large number of cancellations resulting from the spread of the new coronavirus in China.

Operators at the Spring Sunny Hotel Nagoya Tokoname near Chubu Airport in Aichi Prefecture say they were informed of around 1,300 cancellations on Sunday alone.

Hotel staff say that nearly 70 percent of reservations are made by tourists from China during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.

Meanwhile, the Japan Tourism Agency has decided to conduct a nationwide survey on cancellations of hotel reservations.

Chinese travel firms have suspended group tours to other countries in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus.

Japan's transport ministry had expected that about 400,000 people would arrive by plane and about 35,000 people by cruise ship from China during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.

Now, ministry officials are concerned about the impact on the Japanese hotel industry as people on group tours account for about 30 percent of Chinese travelers to Japan.

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