BANGKOK, 1 July 2021: Cross Hotels & Resorts has appointed Biz M Asia as its general sales agent (GSA) in Japan to reinforce its expansion plans in the Japanese market
The hotel management says the Japanese market is one of the ‘Big 4’ key players in the Asian tourism and hospitality market, the other players being Thailand, Bali and Vietnam.
Biz M Asia will represent Cross Hotels & Resorts and support the opening of the Away Okinawa Kouri Island Resort property, as well as represent all hotels in their portfolio in the Japanese market. Cross Hotels & Resorts has seven hotels in Japan.
Sales will be led by Mary Tolentino, who has over three decades of experience in sales and marketing and representing international hotel brands and independent properties in key destinations.
Biz M Asia specializes in selling to wholesalers, retail leisure travel agencies as well as corporate and group travel, all of which are key markets for Cross Hotels & Resorts.
In 2018 and 2019, inbound markets from Thailand and Australia experienced significant growth, with almost 1.3 million Thais and 20,000 Australians travelling to Japan each year. Vietnamese and Indonesian travellers to Japan grew substantially in previous years, with Japan welcoming approximately 260,000 travellers from these markets each year. Japanese outbound travellers to these same markets also grew significantly, with about 1.7 million Japanese visitors to Thailand, 260,000 to Bali and almost 1 million to Vietnam over the same period.
“We look to see growth in the Japanese market both domestically, as well as establishing Cross Hotels & Resorts as a preferred option for outbound Japanese leisure and business travellers. Having a dedicated Japan-based GSA is a demonstration of our commitment to growth and commitment to our local partners,” said Cross Hotels & Resorts executive vice president – commercial, Paul Wilson.
Cross Hotels & Resorts currently operate 22 hotels across three distinct brands – Cross, Cross Vibe and Away in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan. Sales and distribution for Cross Hotels & Resorts is supported by Flight Centre Travel Group.
