As the Friday opening of the 2002 FIFA World Cup approaches, hoteliers in and around Tokyo are making last-minute efforts to get their slice of the hoopla that will carry on through the next month.
Some major hotels in Tokyo are looking to secure big profits in June with few vacancies thanks to a huge number of visitors coming for the event cohosted by Japan and South Korea.
However, some other hotels, particularly in Yokohama, where the final and three first-round matches will be held, have been struggling to make up for massive cancellations of bookings for June -- many of which came just a month ago by a British firm that had booked large blocks of rooms for the event but saw its customers opting instead to relocate to South Korea.