A public holiday but there's little to cheer about

TOKYO • The Olympic cauldron will remain unlit and its stadium empty today as the virus-triggered postponement of the Tokyo Games leaves fans wondering if it is still worth holding on to tickets and hotel operators fretting over thousands of vacant rooms.

Japan will still mark the day originally scheduled for the opening ceremony with a national holiday. But there will be little to celebrate amid continued uncertainty over staging the Games next year.

Dylan Crain, a Florida resident who had tickets to attend the opening event and helped plan the trip for a group of 12, said he is less willing to go to the Games, which are set to start on July 23 next year, as rescheduling with so many people would be "hard to justify".

The Japan government had expected the Games to fuel a surge in overseas visitors to 40 million this year; now, it may not even reach five million. Spending by overseas visitors will be a fraction of the 4.8 trillion yen (S$62.1 billion) splashed last year, with the failed Olympic bet threatening to re-entrench Japanese firms' conservative stance on investment.

A number of big hotel chains including Prince Hotels & Resorts have delayed opening new facilities. A third of the 620,000 workers in the hotel industry were still on leave in May, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. But even with staff furloughed, some hotels could not weather the storm.

The White Bear Family Company group filed for bankruptcy protection with 35 billion yen in debt, a record for Japan's tourism industry, according to research firm Teikoku Databank.

"This was supposed to be the busiest time for us ever," said Naoyuki Fukuuchi, managing director at Japan Hotel Association. "Instead, we are in a dire situation like never before."

Should the Games be cancelled, the financial implications would be disastrous for them and international sports federations alike. By last week, the federations had received US$60 million (S$83.2 million) from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as they struggle with financial problems. In May, the IOC pledged US$800 million, with US$650 million to help cover postponement costs and US$150 million to support the Olympic movement.

"A cancellation of the Tokyo Games would be serious, both financially and from a sporting perspective for most international federations," said Jean-Loup Chappelet, professor emeritus at the Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration and a specialist in the Olympic movement.

BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE