22 Mil. Admissions Needed for Osaka-Kansai Expo to Be Profitable, Organizer Says; Average of 130,000 Visitors Necessary Per Day
The association said the Expo needs to see a daily average of about 130,000 visitors from now on to be in the black.
The number of visitors to the Expo had often been under 100,000 a day just after opening in April, but the daily number in the past month increased to about 130,000 on average.
'We made a good start,' said Masakazu Tokura, chairperson of the association and honorary chair of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), at a press conference on Monday. 'If the pace of increase in the past month continues, [the Expo] can become profitable.'
Of the ¥116 billion budget for managing the Expo, admission ticket sales are expected to cover ¥96.9 billion, or more than 80%, of the budget.
To break even, 18 million tickets need to be sold.
The association aims for 22 million admissions, including those who have passes and enter multiple times during the run of the Expo.
The Expo organizer's initial goal in terms of ticket sales was 23 million and expected a total of 28.2 million admissions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
a day ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Flying Car Floats Out of Expo Venue, Soaring 15 Meters and Over the Sea, Aichi Pref. Start-Up Provides Demonstration to Press
A test flight of a flying car was demonstrated for the press over the sea by the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo venue on Monday. The next-generation vehicle belongs to SkyDrive Inc., a start-up based in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture. Driven by remote control, the car rose 15 meters above the venue, flying over the sea on the west side and making a 300-meter roundtrip before completing the four-minute demonstration. SkyDrive started demonstration flights at the end of July, initially limiting the flight area to the port due to safety considerations. The range was expanded to the sea upon confirming there were no safety concerns.
Asahi Shimbun
6 days ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Expo ticket sales surge past break-even mark of 18 million
Visitors at the Osaka Kansai Expo wait for a fireworks show to start on July 23. (Hiyori Uchiumi) Ticket sales for the Osaka Kansai Expo have surpassed a key milestone of 18 million tickets, exceeding the break-even point set by organizers, more than two months before the world fair will close. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition announced on Aug. 11 that the total ticket sales reached 18,095,703. The organization, which releases weekly ticket sales figures every Monday, said this marked an increase of 550,000 from the previous week. As of Aug. 9, the total number of general visitors, excluding staff and stakeholders, stood at 13,402,033. The operational budget for the expo is estimated at 116 billion yen ($785 million), with more than 80 percent expected to be covered by ticket sales. The association has set a sales target of 23 million tickets, including multiple-entry passes, with a projected total attendance of 28.2 million visitors. The world's fair, which opened April 13, will conclude its six-month run on Oct. 13. It is being held on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay.
Yomiuri Shimbun
6 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Osaka Company Under Investigation for Building Expo Pavilion Without Permit; Representative Says Firm Was ‘Too Busy' to Submit Application
OSAKA — Osaka Prefectural Police on Wednesday began searching the house of the representative of Iroha Kensetsu, an Osaka City-based construction company, among other places, on suspicion that the company contracted construction work for the Angolan pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai Expo without a permit, in violation of the Construction Business Law. The Osaka prefectural government in July ordered the company to suspend operation for 30 days after an investigation brought to light the possibility that they may have been doing unauthorized work. Investigators say they suspect that, around January, the company received an order for about ¥120 million to perform work, including interior construction, on the pavilion despite not obtaining the required permit from the land, infrastructure and transport minister and the Osaka governor. They also say that the company's office was closed recently, and that on Wednesday morning, the police began searching several places related to the company, including the Osaka City residence of its representative, a man in his 40s. The Construction Business Law requires companies contracting construction work worth ¥5 million or more to obtain an operation permit. Failure to do so may be punished with up to three years in detention or a fine of up to ¥3 million. The representative, admitting that his company contracted the work without a permit, told The Yomiuri Shimbun, 'We met the requirements to contract the work, but a former accounting person did not submit an application for that, and we were too busy to check it.' According to the representative, the company as it currently exists was launched by several people in June last year, after they took over the corporation, which at the time was inactive. As for the Angolan pavilion work, the company first contracted the work for the interior and other parts from another construction company and then subcontracted it out to six companies. The work started in mid-February and was more or less completed by late March. The pavilion accepted visitors on the Expo's opening day on April 13, but it then closed for 'technical adjustments' and reopened on June 26. The Yomiuri Shimbun contacted the construction company from which Iroha Kensetsu originally contracted work on the pavilion, but that company has not responded. There are three other cases also currently under investigation by the Osaka prefectural government in which construction companies are suspected of having contracted work on foreign countries' Expo pavilions without authorization.
