In the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, hotel operators are rushing ahead with new developments to meet demand, with an extra 10,000 new rooms forecast over the next five years.
US market research specialist STR Global forecasts 9,938 rooms will be added to the current room supply in Tokyo, an increase of about 2,400 since its last hospitality industry survey in April.
It represents a more than 10% increase on Tokyo’s existing 97,879 hotel rooms, according to data recorded in March by Japan’s welfare ministry.
While the hotel construction boom continues apace, the short-term home rental market is also growing significantly.
The government has proposed relaxing current rules to allow for short term rentals although there remains strong opposition in the hospitality industry and with influential lawmakers in several major cities.
The decision to relax laws is part of the Abe government’s inbound tourism stimulus along with relaxed visa regulations and ongoing legislation to pave the way for gaming resorts aimed at foreign visitors.
The government has set a target of 20 million international visitors by 2020.
