The tourist industry in Japan is facing difficulties in securing workers before the country eases border controls on Tuesday.

Japan will end the limit on the number of people entering the country, lift the ban on individual travel and allow visa-free visits.

People in the industry hope for a recovery from the pandemic, but they say they are facing a serious labor shortage.

An owner of a traditional Japanese inn located in Kinugawa, north of Tokyo, famous for its hot springs and beautiful scenery, says she has been receiving many inquiries from tourists outside Japan.

She says it is difficult to hire staff since the industry faced a serious downturn during the pandemic.

Teikoku Data Bank, a private research firm also says that labor shortages in the industry are numerous. It surveys about 26,000 firms in 50 different sectors every month.

The latest survey taken at the end of August shows 72.8 percent of the hotels answered that they have shortages of regular workers. It was the highest percentage of all industries.

Experts say the industry needs to come up with ways to maintain the quality of its hospitality as many people are expected to be visiting Japan.