A ceremony celebrating IHG Hotels & Resorts’ launch of three Garner brand hotels in the Hommachi district is held in Osaka’s Chuo Ward on Feb. 6, 2025. International brands are launching hotels in the surrounding area in succession ahead of the upcoming World Expo in the city. (Mainichi/Tsuyoshi Kosaka)
OSAKA — As the April 13 launch of the World Expo in Osaka approaches, new hotels are opening and renovations are in their final stages. Some industries are hoping the expo, which runs through, Oct. 13, will spark a special boost in demand, but can Japan expect an “Expo boom”?
In mid-January, IHG Hotels & Resorts opened three Garner hotels simultaneously in Osaka’s Hommachi business district with a combined total of about 500 guest rooms.
While IHG Hotels & Resorts, known for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts among other brands, evokes a luxury image, the three new facilities in the Hommachi area focus solely on providing accommodation, with no restaurants attached, and the room rates start in the low 10,000-yen range (around $67 and up) per night.
There has apparently been a surge in bookings and inquiries from businesses handling Expo-related work behind the scenes, such as expo staff, shuttle bus drivers and security personnel.
The popularity of the hotels is due to their convenient access to the Expo site on the artificial island of Yumeshima. From Hommachi Station, which is closest, guests can take the Osaka Metro Chuo Line and reach Yumeshima Station in about 20 minutes without changing trains.
A representative at IHG Hotels & Resorts expressed confidence that the hotels would draw guests, saying, “We expect an occupancy rate of over 90% from April onward thanks to the ‘Expo boom.’ In addition to companies and organizations related to the World Expo, we anticipate an increase in tourists after the event begins.”
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan is expected to attract 28.2 million visitors. According to the action plan released by the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, about 90% of visitors are expected to be domestic, with nearly 40% of them coming from outside western Japan’s Kansai region. Hotels around Osaka are likely to experience a boom if they can attract visitors from other regions who require accommodation.
However, ticket sales have been sluggish, and it remains uncertain whether the number of visitors will reach expectations. A representative of a luxury hotel in the city of Osaka pointed out, “There hasn’t been a significant surge in bookings from Japanese tourists yet.”
Hoshino Resort Co.’s OMO7 Osaka Hotel in the city of Osaka has started showcasing a prototype of a “flying car” in an effort to generate excitement ahead of the event. Additionally, it has launched a course in which “Expo enthusiasts” who have visited Expos around the world explain the highlights of the upcoming event.
Shota Kaburaki, the general manager of OMO7 Osaka Hotel, expressed optimism, telling the Mainichi Shimbun, “We are receiving many inquiries (including reservations) concerning the Expo period.”
However, there apparently hasn’t been a sharp increase in bookings from Japanese customers planning to visit the Expo. Kaburaki explained, “Japanese guests tend to make more reservations after they schedule a long holiday. Overall, bookings are up compared to last year due to increasing inbound tourism, but it’s still uncertain if we are seeing the effects of the Expo yet.”
(Japanese original by Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Osaka Business News Department)
AloJapan.com