New C9 Hotelworks Report – North American Flights Open a New Gateway to Niseko

C9 Hotelworks has released the Niseko Tourism and Property Market Review 2026. Winter visitor arrivals rose 8.4% to 2.14 million, and hotel supply is set to grow 46% by the end of 2026. The review covers source markets, new North American air access, hotel performance, residential supply and the development pipeline through 2031.

The United States was Niseko’s largest international source market for overnight guests from April 2025 to March 2026. It sent 40,504 guests, up 15.2% year on year, ahead of Australia (37,134) and Hong Kong (37,039).

From December 2026, United Airlines from San Francisco and Air Canada from Vancouver will each fly three times a week into New Chitose Airport for the season. The airport is about two hours by road from Niseko. Starlux also adds five weekly flights from Taichung starting in October.

Winter Arrivals Rise 8.4% as Longer Stays Gain Share
Winter visitor arrivals across Kutchan, Niseko and Rankoshi reached 2.14 million in the November 2025 to March 2026 season. January was the busiest month with 630,200 arrivals.

Some 87.6% of international overnight guests stayed four nights or longer. The share staying eight nights or more rose from 21.7% to 24.5%, which supports demand for second homes and investment property.

Hotel Keys Grow 46% as Summer ADR Strengthens
Moxy Niseko Village (310 keys) and Hotel101 Niseko (482 keys) take hotel supply from 1,727 keys at the end of 2025 to 2,519 by the end of 2026. With 46% more keys, summer and shoulder season demand become more important.

ADR rose 10.6% in June and 15% in July 2026. Occupancy also grew again in July, mainly thanks to Japanese domestic travellers.

Residential Supply Reaches Its Highest Level Since 2018
Primary residential supply rose 27.6% to about 2,500 units in 2026. Condominiums make up 69%, land plots 23% and villas 8%. Hirafu and Outer Hirafu hold 63% of supply.

The pipeline includes 290 units across six Hotel Residences projects, including Aman Niseko, The Chedi Niseko and Hoshinoya Hütte Niseko. Fairmont Niseko is due to open in 2028.

C9 Hotelworks on Niseko
C9 Hotelworks has an extensive advisory portfolio in Niseko, covering hotels, branded residences and mixed use developments for developers, investors and operators.

To read and download C9 Hotelworks Niseko Tourism and Property Market Review 2026 CLICK