TOKYO -- In what would have been a windfall year had the Olympic Games proceeded as planned, Japan's hotel chains are instead facing an existential threat after the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the travel industry.
Just before Japan's annual Golden Week holiday began, Osaka-based WBF Hotels & Resorts, filed for bankruptcy on April 27. The company had racked up debts of 15.7 billion yen ($146 million), making its case the largest coronavirus-induced bankruptcy in Japan so far. Typically, around 25 million people travel domestically and abroad during Japan's the weeklong spring holiday which ended last Thursday.
