On the night of the 14th, the government has decided to suspend "Go To Travel" nationwide from 28th this month to 11th January next year.
On the 15th, one night after the decision, tourist destinations in various regions have expressed their understanding, but the impact is spreading, such as the cancellation of reservations for accommodation facilities one after another.
Reservation cancellations at accommodations one after another
Of these, at the hot spring inn "Hanajukai" in Takamatsu City, all rooms were filled with reservations during the period from 28th this month to 11th next month when "Go To Travel" was suspended all over the country. From the night of the 14th to the morning of the 15th, we received more than 80 notifications to cancel the reservation.
The loss amounted to more than 7 million yen for this cancellation alone, and if the number of cancellations increases in the future, the loss may amount to tens of millions of yen.
At this ryokan, the number of guests decreased by more than 90% from March to May compared to the same month last year, but it has recovered since June when Kagawa Prefecture started its own subsidy program for accommodation expenses. The trend is that last month sales, including the use of banquets, exceeded the same month last year.
Masahiro Mitsuya, chairman of Hanajukai, who is the chairman of the union that makes accommodations in the prefecture, said, "I was horrified to think that the number of guests would increase with the support of GoTo, but I feel like I can't do it." Was there.
Some hotels say, "Sudden announcement, the company is noisy."
At the "Mt. Fuji Mishima Tokyu Hotel" in Mishima City, Shizuoka Prefecture, where there are many tourists from the Tokyo metropolitan area, accommodation reservations were almost full from 28th this month to 3rd next month, but after the government announced, the morning of the 15th By 11:00, there have been at least 120 reservation cancellations.
Taichiro Takeuchi, the guest room manager of "Mt. Fuji Mishima Tokyu Hotel," said, "The company is noisy due to the sudden announcement, but there is no way to prevent the spread of the infection. We would like our customers to come again when the infection has subsided. I was talking.
Being busy dealing with travel agency reservations
From the 15th, the travel agency "Asuka Travel" in Suginami-ku, Tokyo has been responding by calling customers who have booked travel during the period when "Go To Travel" is suspended.
Yoshisaburo Murayama, chairman of the Tokyo Travel Industry Association and president of Asuka Travel, said, "Since the country has indicated that" Go To Travel "will continue even if the number of infected people increases, it will be suspended nationwide. I didn't think so when I heard it. I think there will be cancellations, so sales will drop and it will be a big hurt. "
In addition, as the number of tourists increases during the year-end and New Year holidays, "I wanted you to make an earlier decision to reduce the number of infected people and then make" Go To Travel "available during the year-end and New Year holidays."
He added, "If the number of infected people decreases, it will be easier to recommend travel, so I think it is important to reduce the number of infected people first. I hope that travel for spring is recommended."
Eating and drinking establishments are also concerned about a drop in sales
Some tourist destinations in Kanagawa Prefecture and restaurants in Hakone Town said that it was unavoidable, but there were concerns that sales, which had been recovering, would fall again.
At the Japanese restaurant "Kinosuke" in the shopping district in front of Hakone Yumoto Station, sales with regional coupons accounted for about one-third for the past few months, so the effect of the suspension of the campaign was large. I am worried that I will receive it.
The owner, Tetsuya Kikukawa, said, "I'm worried about the future when I think I'll be lonely in Hakone again. The biggest problem is that I don't know whether it's good or bad to entertain customers."
Some say, "I don't understand what to do afterwards."
Some people at the facility where you can eat and compare Utsunomiya's famous gyoza have said that they cannot understand the sudden change in policy of the government.
"Kurase Main Store", a popular facility where you can compare and eat local gourmet Gyoza in Utsunomiya City, is run by the "Utsunomiya Gyozakai" made at the Gyoza store in the city, and many tourists visit on holidays. Will visit.
We are planning to continue business 24 hours a day during the year-end and New Year holidays, and we have already placed orders to purchase the necessary ingredients, but due to the suspension of "Go To Travel", we have to reconsider our response including refraining from business. It means that it is no longer available.
Akihiro Suzuki, the secretary general of the Utsunomiya Gyozakai, said, "There is no way to stop the spread of the infection, but since the business operator is already working, including the arrangement of people and the arrangement of ingredients, I can not understand the late response to stop it now. I'm just getting worried about next year, "he said with resentment.