Integrated resorts (IRs) in Osaka and Nagasaki, Japan, could attract business travelers who now may patronize two such destinations in Singapore, according to a Schroders Capital report cited by GGRAsia.
“Comparisons with Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore suggest that the Japanese complexes should also attract high visitor numbers and MICE business,” writes Andrew Haskins, Schroders’ the AsiaPac head of strategy and investor advisory, real estate.
Haskins noted that just five of Japan’s 47 prefectures drew the majority of inbound tourists before the Covid-19 pandemic. Travelers to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto “accounted for 37 percent to 39 percent of total guest stays in the peak year of 2019,” he wrote. In the same year, he added, about 80 percent of hotel stays and travel revenues in Japan originated with domestic travelers.
His report also said that in the Asian “hospitality recovery race,” Singapore “leads into the first corner,” but Japan is “set to accelerate”.
“From a business perspective, Singapore’s position as the leading communications hub of Southeast Asia and strong government support turned the country into a top MICE destination prior to Covid-19,” he wrote.
The relaxation of entry rules, such as visa-waiver arrangements for vaccinated foreign tourists and an end to daily visitor caps, Asian inbound visitors will “rebound sharply,” especially with a weak Japanese yen.
In 2016, when integrated resort legislation was approved, Japan set a target of hosting 60 million visitors per year by 2030. An Osaka IR is expected to open then, if MGM Resorts and its local partner, Orix Corp., are approved for a license. Nagasaki’s IR would be operated by Casinos Austria’s Japan unit and local partners.
