Photo/Illutration A board of a rental car information center at Naha Airport shows all vehicles offered by rental car agencies are “fully booked” on Aug. 3. (Maho Fukui)

NAHA--Many tourists flocking to Okinawa Prefecture during the first restriction-free summer since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 are hitting another speed bump at the start of their vacations: no rental cars. 

The shortage is due to car rental agencies selling off some of their fleets because the number of tourists plummeted due to the prolonged pandemic.

Now that visitor numbers are rising again, the prefecture is facing a serious shortage of rental vehicles.

On Aug. 3, a board of a rental car information center at Naha Airport showed all car rental agencies were “fully booked.” 

A woman from Kobe searched car rental agencies near Naha Airport through a booking website, but discovered that all the vehicles were fully booked.

She inquired to more than 10 companies. Even if they had available rentals, the price was nearly 20,000 yen ($150) per day.

She gave up renting a car and traveled around the prefecture by taxi and bus. She said that the buses were nearly full, so she was worried about being unable to board them.

The Okinawa Rent-A-Car Association, which comprises 42 companies, said it had 28,000 cars as of July 2019 before the pandemic, but had only 16,700 cars available as of June this year.

The association said rental companies reduced the number of cars in their fleets to cut costs due to the prolonged pandemic.

Shiyoshi Yokota, association senior director, said that it’s usually difficult to book a car during the Bon holiday season in mid-August, but that is true for the entire month this year. 

“People will not be able to book a car until the end of August,” he said.

Yokota said that companies want to secure new rental vehicles, but it’s difficult because automakers are cutting production due to global semiconductor shortages.

In Okinawa, which is a car-based society, there are many sightseeing spots that are difficult to access through public transportation.

JTB Okinawa Corp., a travel agency, began operating a free shuttle bus service last month. The buses stop at Onnanoeki (farmer’s market), the Nago city government building and other places in the northern part of the main island as well as famed hotels and beaches.

A tour operator said, “You can enjoy the tour without worrying about driving.”

The town of Motobu, where the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is located, is offering five buses per day, which stop at Ocean Expo Park and major hotels. The service is available until the end of September.

Miyakojima city will also operate a bus service that tours sightseeing facilities from Aug. 10.

Okinawa Prefecture launched the website “Okinawa Norimono Tabi,” which provides information on buses and the monorail system from Naha Airport to major sightseeing spots, on July 26.

“We want visitors to know how convenient it is to travel here by public transportation,” said the tourism promotion division.

(This article was written by Hironori Kato and Maho Fukui.)

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