Japan tourist businesses hit by Chinese travel ban

Tourists wearing Kimono and surgical masks visit a souvenir shop near Sensoji temple in Tokyo, Japan January 31, 2020. Picture taken on January 31, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - A week after China banned its citizens from travelling to contain a deadly coronavirus outbreak, Japanese businesses catering for Chinese tourists say sales have dwindled and they are bracing for months of slow trade.

Xie Shanpeng, who runs a travel agency in Tokyo for Chinese tourists, had expected the months from Lunar New Year to the Tokyo Olympics starting in late July to be busy.