Kumamoto tourism suffers 6 billion yen in losses after earthquake
The July 28 earthquake left Kumamoto’s tourism industry with 4.04 billion yen in property damage and 2.06 billion yen in lost booking revenue.
- The total financial loss for Kumamoto's tourism industry after the earthquake is approximately 6 billion yen.
- This loss is comprised of about 4.04 billion yen in damage to hotel buildings and equipment, and 2.06 billion yen from widespread cancellations.
- Around 146,000 people cancelled hotel bookings, with 60% of these cancellations occurring in the Aso and Amakusa areas, which sustained relatively little physical damage.
- Individual tourist facilities have seen visitor numbers plummet, with some attractions reporting attendance falling to half or even one-third of their usual levels.
Aso and Amakusa accounted for about 60 per cent of hotel cancellations after the July 28 earthquake, even though both areas sustained relatively little physical damage.
Cautioning against unfounded information, Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura stressed: “There are unaffected areas even in the prefecture.”
The earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan during the summer holiday season and reached the maximum level of 7 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale.
The prefectural government put damage to hotel buildings and equipment at about 4.04 billion yen.
By August 6, around 146,000 people had cancelled hotel bookings, causing losses of approximately 2.06 billion yen and taking the industry’s total financial hit to about 6 billion yen.
Despite damage to tiles in its women’s bath, a ryokan in Kumamoto city has continued operating and accepted evacuees.
It has also received numerous cancellations for the remainder of the year, including the September holiday period, while demand for drinking parties has fallen.
Landlady Ai Hirayama, 51, noted that the inn had made its onsen hot-spring facility available to people involved in restoration work after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes.
“We hope people take a break at our facility when they’re tired,” she said.
“We take great pride in being a ryokan offering hot water, a gift from nature.”
The Aso Volcano Museum, located in a tourist area of Aso city, received only one-third of its usual visitor numbers during the week after the quake.
Bookings involving about 400 people were cancelled, mainly school trips and other group tours.
Two weeks after the earthquake, visitors are beginning to return to the museum, but many remain worried about aftershocks.
The museum continues to inform the public through social media that it is open as usual.
“We hope things go back to normal soon,” said curator Katsunori Toyomura, 40.
Visitor numbers at Aso Farm Land, a leisure facility in Minamiaso village, have fallen to around half their level in an average year.
By Monday, bookings for overnight stays involving about 4,800 people had been cancelled, causing about 100 million yen in lost revenue.
“August is usually a busy period for us, but the number of bookings continues to decrease,” said facility manager Masakazu Higashi, 56.
After the earthquake, bookings through the autumn were cancelled in rapid succession at a ryokan in Kamiamakusa city.
The inn was already struggling with damage from flooding last August and soaring costs while still recovering from the COVID-19 crisis.
“There’s no light at the end of the tunnel,” said landlady Kayomi Nakashima, 58. “We’ve tried to stay positive, but after seeing disasters continue like this, we’re (at a loss).”
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
