Tokyo (AFP)

The postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is a major blow to the hotel and tourism sectors in Japan, which are already suffering from the coronavirus pandemic.

"This is a huge shock for us, as the revenue of many of our hotels has already halved as a result of the collapse in tourism demand, not only from abroad but also from within Japan , because of the coronavirus ", explains to AFP Shigemi Sudo, secretary general of the Association of hotels and ryokan (traditional inns, note) of Tokyo.

"Many room reservations will be canceled, and it will be difficult to fill them with new customers given the situation," he feared.

The postponement comes after the organizers repeated for weeks, despite the spread of the disease around the world, that the Olympics could take place.

Many companies in the hospitality and tourism sectors of Japan clung to the hope that the event would help them to compensate for this year's losses.

Many are now in an uncertain situation, while no date has yet been set for the postponed Games, normally by the summer of 2021.

As in the rest of the world, Japanese hotels have suffered severely from the spread of the virus, with reservations down 30 to 90% in March and April compared to the same period last year, according to a survey of the Japanese Tourism Agency (JTA).

- Compensation? -

The agency receives calls from companies in difficulty. "Most ask us for advice on cash flow problems and how to keep their jobs," said a JTA official at AFP.

Keio Plaza Hotel - home of the Rugby World Cup Winners Springboks - in the busy Tokyo district of Shinjuku, says it started receiving cancellation requests soon after the postponement was announced of the Olympics.

The difficulties of the establishment are further compounded by the fact that an employee tested positive for coronavirus, leading to cleaning the vast building of 47 floors from top to bottom.

The Imperial Hotel, in the center of Tokyo, had been fully booked by the organizers of the Olympic Games during the period when the event was to take place, from July 24, and said it was awaiting new directives. Even before the announcement of the Olympic postponement, the establishment had revised downwards by 37% its forecasts for net profit for the year ended March, compared to the previous one, he said.

Hotels like those in the Via Inn chain, which has six properties in Tokyo, face an unprecedented dilemma. "Normally, we would charge cancellation fees, but in this case we cannot, because it is not the fault of the customers," said a spokesman for the group. "I don't know if we will be able to negotiate compensation with the organizers of the Olympic Games," he added.

- Better than a cancellation -

Just a few months ago, the JTB travel agency, one of the largest in the country, offered "Olympic packages" including travel to Tokyo and tickets for the events. The agency is now awaiting instructions from the organizers to find out how to respond to its customers.

The organizing committee is well aware of the titanic task that awaits it, and of the number of companies awaiting its decisions.

"It's a race against the clock," said Tokyo 2020 organizing committee chief executive Toshiro Muto on Thursday at the first meeting of the task force to manage the consequences of the postponement.

Reserving the rooms next year, once the date of the Olympic Games has been set, will not be easy. A planning decision could be announced in the next three weeks, media reports said.

"Generally, room reservations - for example for weddings - start six to twelve months in advance," said the spokesman for Via Inn.

Only glimmer at the end of the tunnel, the establishments hope to recover part of their losses when the Olympic Games will finally take place. "We can't blame anyone, and we think the postponement was a better decision than the cancellation," agrees Mr. Sudo of the Tokyo Hotel and Ryokan Association.

© 2020 AFP