Tourism is one of the industries hardest hit by COVID-19. The Government of Japan has been imposing entry restrictions on many countries and regions, and Japan is sealed off from the outside world. Niseko, which is visited by many overseas tourists, is particularly affected. The HANAZONO Resort in Kutchan Town is managed by the real estate company Pacific Century Premium Developments (PCPD) in Hong Kong. We interviewed Benjamin Lam, Deputy Chairman of the company, about what he thinks about future investments.
The Department of Economic Affairs of the Hokkaido Government has summarized the number of newly built or expanded business facilities in the prefecture. FY 2019 saw 94 new facilities, which was eight less than the previous year. In order to reduce the risk of simultaneous disasters with the Tokyo metropolitan area, the number of facilities for industrial support services, such as IT companies and call centers, has increased. On the other hand, the expansion of food factories and processing and assembly factories was sluggish, and the total number of newly built or expanded facilities fell below 100 for the first time in five years. Going forward, efforts will be strengthened to attract data centers and satellite offices.
Forest acquisition by foreign capital has increased across Hokkaido. The Hokkaido Government confirmed that the total area of forests acquired by foreign capital until December 31, 2019 had risen to 2,946 ha. Of that total, Shiribeshi Subprefecture accounted for 54.7%. The acquisition was carried out mainly in the Niseko area, a well-known international resort. In recent years, however, foreign capital has also been invested in forests in Toyako Town, Furano City and other areas in Hokkaido.
The number of new housing starts by structure in 179 municipalities in Hokkaido in 2019 has been finalized. The total number of new housing starts in Hokkaido was 21,406, up 1.9% from the previous year. The number of wooden (W) structures, which account for nearly 80% of the total, increased by 2.3% to 16,745, the first increase in two years. The number of steel (S) structures increased by 3% to 3,355. By jurisdiction, the number of new housing starts was higher than the previous year in 10 regions, including Ishikari (excluding Sapporo), Oshima and Okhotsk. The number in Sapporo, which accounts for 30% of the total, was 7,258, an increase of 2.6%.
(This article has been newly written for this page.)Hokkaido continues to be ranked as the most popular area in Japan among Japanese people. According to a survey on the attractiveness of areas around Japan conducted annually by a private research company in Tokyo, Hokkaido ranked first in 2019 for the 11th consecutive year. Kyoto was ranked second and Tokyo third.
