TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – In response to poor visitor numbers in Taiwan, the country’s hotel chains have been opening branches in Japan, reports said Saturday.

Japan welcomed a record 36.86 million visitors in 2024, an increase of 47.1% from the previous year, partly fueled by the depreciation of the yen. Taiwanese travelers spent the most following the Chinese visitors, but ahead of South Koreans, Americans, and travelers from Hong Kong.

In contrast, Taiwan saw 6.95 million visitors from January to November 2024, while 15.52 million Taiwanese traveled overseas during the same period, per CNA. Hotel revenue in 2024 declined 10.7% from the previous year to NT$6.04 billion (NT$184.26 million).

The DoMo Group, Taiwan’s first international B&B company, manages four hotels and B&Bs in the Tokyo area, with an average occupancy rate of 90% during 2024. Half its guests come from North America and Europe, 30% from Taiwan, and 20% from South Korea and Japan.

DoMo said it was not targeting Japanese travelers, but mostly foreign visitors in areas popular overseas. Its next project is near Kumamoto, the site of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s chip factories.

Just Sleep, a brand run by the Silks Hotel Group, the owner and operator of the Regent Taipei, opened a hotel in Osaka in 2023. Since then, it has maintained an occupancy rate of about 90%, with 70% of its guests from Taiwan, and the rest from Hong Kong and Macau. The language ability of its staff and the choice of breakfast foods is tailored to visitors from Taiwan, the company said.

Dunqian Smart Co. exported its Check Inn brand to Tokyo and Osaka, with its properties noted for their limited use of personnel. The group prefers robots and online platforms to address staff shortages.