An integrated resort development in Osaka, Japan would not need large numbers of Chinese visitors to be successful with the prefecture set to target customers from South Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia instead, according to Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura.
His comments were made to Bloomberg News while in London this week to promote the 2025 Osaka Expo and come amid uncertainty over when Japan’s central government will determine whether or not Osaka’s IR bid has been successful. Osaka city and prefecture has partnered with global casino operator MGM Resorts International and local firm ORIX Corp in planning a US$9 billion IR development on Yumeshima Island.
Asked about the issue of Chinese visitation given ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and Beijing’s high-profile crackdown on cross-border gambling in recent years, Yoshimura said, “We had a huge volume of inbound Chinese tourists in mind when the project was still in its early stages. However, it still remains an extremely popular destination from tourists from all over Asia, including Korea, from Taiwan and from all over Southeast Asia.
“I do believe that the business is perfectly viable without the Chinese tourists.”
Yoshimura’s trip to London comes after Japan reopened its borders to the world in October. Figures from the Japan Tourism Organization show the number of international visitors into Japan in October was double the number in September and 24 times the monthly average in 2021.
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