‘Severe’ Japanese Tourism Drop Leaves China to Fill Rooms

Asia’s holiday resorts may see fewer Japanese tourists as the tsunami and nuclear scare keeps some of the region’s wealthiest travelers at home, leaving countries more reliant on Chinese travelers to fill the gap.

Government officials and lawmakers in Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and South Korea have predicted drops in tourist revenue in the past week. Japanese nationals spent $25 billion on travel in 2009, compared with $44 billion in expenditures from China, according to the latest available data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization.