The Japanese hotel industry is struggling with serious labor shortages amid a rapid recovery in tourism demand following the COVID-19 pandemic, with concerns growing about the possibility that the sector will fail to meet the soaring demand.

The proportion of hotel operators facing labor shortages started surging in the second half of last year, according to a survey by credit research firm Teikoku Databank.

In April, 75.5% of surveyed hotel operators said they face shortages of regular employees while 78% said they lack part-time and other nonregular workers, according to the survey, which covered about 100 companies.