Japanese travel agencies that failed to obtain enough World Cup tickets for paying customers said Monday they are suffering severe financial setbacks because of the problem.
Among the 2,700 who paid Kinki Nippon Tourist Co. for a World Cup tour, including tickets for Japan's debut game against Argentina in France on Sunday, more than 1,000 have canceled. "Although we are too busy to calculate the exact amount of the loss, we are sure that it will be considerable. We anticipate that it will exceed 100 million yen, although we don't think it will top 1 billion yen," a spokesman for the country's major travel agency said.
The Japan Travel Bureau promised to refund all tour money for its customers who could not attend the game against Argentina, making 1,050 people eligible for the refund, according to a JTB spokeswoman. As most customers paid for five- to six-day tours costing between 300,000 yen and 350,000 yen, the JTB faces losses of at least 315 million yen.
The travel agency must also pay cancellation fees to hotels and airlines and bear extra expenses to address the emergency situation, the spokeswoman said.
A spokesman for Nippon Travel Agency Co. said the firm is unable to estimate its losses because it still has to negotiate cancellation fees with airlines and hotels.
Of the approximately 1,800 people who paid for NTA tours, priced between 300,000 yen and 500,000 yen, about 900 have canceled their reservations. On top of the refunds, the travel agency decided to pay 50,000 yen per person as a gesture of apology.