Travel demand recovers rapidly Tourist destinations rising expectations and new concerns October 7, 20:17
Japan's border control measures have been criticized as one of the most severe in the world, and have even been criticized as being in a state of national isolation.
With the lifting of the ban on individual travel from October 11, the number of foreign tourists is expected to increase significantly.
The tourism industry, which has been waiting for this moment for more than two years, is welcoming us.
The interview revealed the reality of the site, which is suffering from a labor shortage.
It seems that I can't help but be happy.
(Economics Department reporter Akira Taruno)
Group bookings are back
Kinugawa Onsen is a tourist destination in Tochigi Prefecture.
A 56-year-old ryokan in one of the best hot spring areas in the Kanto region, where ryokans and hotels line the valley, received an unexpected call from a travel agency in late September.
He asked me if I could make a reservation for a total of 240 guests from Taiwan.
Aiming for the autumn foliage season in November, the idea is to create a travel product that includes Kinugawa Onsen, known for its majestic valley beauty.
Immediately after the government announced the relaxation of border measures, the ryokan started receiving such messages every day.
President Namiki
: “The number of domestic tourists has not returned to what it was before, so I am grateful that the number of foreign tourists is increasing. It was given to me, so I have high expectations in terms of revitalizing the off-season.”
On the 11th, the "National Travel Assistance", a measure to stimulate tourism demand in place of the "Prefectural Discount", will also start.
In the tourism industry, there is a great sense of hope that we will finally be able to regain the vitality that existed before COVID-19.
workers do not gather
However, there are circumstances that we cannot be happy about.
That's the lack of manpower.
While the entire industry was sluggish due to the corona sickness, this ryokan was hit by a situation in which new employees hired in the spring left their jobs early.
We are planning to hire about 10 new graduates next spring, but it is said that the number of applications is lower than last year and the year before.
In addition, as the economy as a whole is recovering, it is said that it is becoming difficult to attract not only full-time employees but also part-time employees as various industries are increasing hiring.
President Namiki
: “Even when I talk to people at other inns, there are many topics about staff shortages. There are some very difficult parts, and I'm worried about what will happen in the future if we don't get young people to come and grow up."
Lodging industry is particularly short of manpower
There is also data to support this sense of crisis.
According to the results of a survey conducted in August by the private credit research company Teikoku Databank, which targeted more than 26,000 companies in about 50 industries, 72.8 of the respondents in the ryokan and hotel sector responded that there was a shortage of regular employees. %, the highest among industries.
That's 45.5 points higher than the same month last year, and the second-highest level ever, after 73.1% in June 2019 before the coronavirus.
67.9% of "hotels and inns" answered that there was a "shortage" of non-regular employees, the second highest among all industries.
The ``occupancy rate'', which indicates the occupancy rate of guest rooms such as hotels and inns, announced by the Japan Tourism Agency exceeded 50% for the first time since March 2020 in the preliminary figures for August.
Due to the rapid recovery of demand, the labor shortage is spreading rapidly in the accommodation industry.
“We have to change, too.”
How will you deal with the labor shortage?
This ryokan is looking for ways to streamline operations without sacrificing quality of service.
One of them is the introduction of tablet terminals.
All guest rooms are equipped with a terminal so that you can easily view information about the facilities of the ryokan and frequently asked questions.
It used to take about 15 minutes for an employee to explain this to guests when they arrived at their room, but we were able to shorten that time.
In addition, by making it possible to check the congestion level of the large public bath and the front desk with this terminal, we have devised ways to spread out the use of guests.
Through these steady efforts, he hopes to lighten the burden on employees as much as possible.
President Namiki
: “In the lodging industry, especially places like inns, emotions are the selling point, and interaction between people is important. Managers have to think about whether there is a place.As people's values have changed due to the prolonged corona crisis, we must also change."
Labor shortage is affecting the entire tourism industry…
The labor shortage that has occurred in the midst of the severe situation caused by the corona crisis is not limited to accommodation.
It has also spread to various businesses that provide tourism-related services.
At a company that offers Japanese culture experience services in Asakusa, Tokyo, the number of employees who pull rickshaws, which is one of the items for sale, has increased from 30 before COVID-19 to 18, and there are 5 employees who teach Japanese culture such as tea ceremony and calligraphy. reduced from one person to three.
While the company was forced to temporarily close due to the spread of the new coronavirus, many people left their jobs to make ends meet.
The company resumed full-scale recruitment around spring in anticipation of a recovery in tourism demand, but it is said that it was difficult to secure human resources who could be hired.
Furthermore, even if you hire someone, it takes time to train them.
In the case of a rickshaw, the training period is at least one month, and the staff who teach Japanese culture need more than a year, and the training period cannot be shortened to maintain the quality of service.
Representative Fujiwara
: “The past two years of the corona crisis were really long, and I couldn’t see the future at all, but I’m really relieved that foreign tourists have finally started to come. Since there are many people, the competition for hiring is getting tougher and I feel impatient, but I can't lower the quality of the service, so I want to do my best to hire people who have the aptitude."
What should I do?
How should we deal with the labor shortage that faces the recovery of tourism demand?
We interviewed Akiko Kosaka, senior researcher at The Japan Research Institute, who is familiar with fields such as tourism.
- In the tourism industry, the labor shortage is becoming serious as demand recovers.
Senior Researcher Kosaka
“Japanese sightseeing spots are busy only on weekends and holidays, and there are many free times on other weekdays. Busy days are concentrated, so it is important to level out demand. Foreign tourists come on weekdays regardless of the day of the week, so we can expect to contribute to the leveling of demand.”
-In order to secure manpower, it is essential to improve the treatment of employees.
Senior Researcher Kosaka
“It is important to create a system in which business operators secure profits and use them as wages. Compared to other countries, the cost of lodging and eating and drinking in Japan is inexpensive. On the other hand, quality is maintained, which is attractive. Although it has become a popular tourist destination, there are still some things that are unreasonable, and it is a management structure that makes it difficult to increase profits.Raise prices, secure appropriate profits, and raise wages for employees. I need to connect to
ーWhat can we do to increase productivity in tourism services, where face-to-face customer service is the main focus?
Senior Researcher Kosaka
“Digitalization is also important in fields such as tourism and customer service. The tourism industry has traditionally focused on services that bring people into contact with each other, but that does not mean that everything depends on manpower. Automation of check-in, etc. It would be effective to introduce the facilities of the Japanese government, and the government will need to provide support in those areas, as it will require a corresponding amount of funds.”
to solve the problem fundamentally
Prime Minister Kishida, in his policy speech at the extraordinary session of the Diet on October 3, expressed his intention to maximize the benefits of the yen's depreciation and aim to achieve annual inbound consumption exceeding 5 trillion yen.
In 2019, when more than 30 million visitors visited Japan, the amount spent by foreign tourists was 4.8 trillion yen, which is more than that.
In order to achieve this, it is necessary to develop and secure human resources to work in tourist areas in areas damaged by the new coronavirus.
And in order to fundamentally solve the problem of shortage of human resources, it is essential to improve the treatment of employees.
To that end, I feel that it is important to increase earning power and secure profits by raising the unit price of accommodation, as experts have said.
The theme of how local tourist destinations make money has been a difficult issue that has been pointed out since before COVID-19, but now that demand is expected to recover significantly, I feel that it is necessary to reconsider this issue.
Economics Department Reporter
Akira Taruno Joined the Bureau in
2012
After working at the Sapporo Bureau and the Fukushima Bureau, he is currently
in charge of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism