Prince group set to open flagship hotel in Tokyo as more tourists flock to Japan
Play
Thailand's most updated English news website, newspaper english, breaking news : The Nation
JAPAN-BASED Prince Hotels and Resorts is shaping up its presence for Thai tourists with a new flagship hotel scheduled to open in Tokyo in the middle of next year.
“The group already established an office in Bangkok in December to promote properties here and to generate tourists from Thailand to Japan.
“We later signed an agreement with Dusit International to expand our marketing network,” Stan Brown, executive vice president, said last week.
The group has no plan to launch a hotel in Thailand at this stage, but is seeking an opportunity.
Thailand became one of the fastest growing markets for Japanese tourism when the Japanese government waived visas for Thais, as well as people from many more countries.
According to statistics from Japan Tourism Marketing Co, as of last month, international visitors to Japan surged 45 per cent to 1.5 million from the same month last year.
Chinese travellers led the way with 338,000, exceeding 300,000 for two successive months.
Philippine travellers hit 26,800 for a 111-per-cent increase. Among the 20 major countries listed, only Russia did not show double-digit growth.
The Japan National Tourism Organisation has reported that visitors from Thailand increased in the first quarter of this year, with 44,770 in January (up 65 per cent), 44,000 in February (up 28 per cent and 92,400 in March (up 30 per cent).
JNTO is aiming for 20 million international tourists by 2020, up from 13 million last year, and for 30 million by 2030.
Prince Group is focusing on boosting its brand value by renewing existing hotels and opening more facilities to increase its capacity to accommodate the flood of foreign tourists to Japan.
The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho is set to open in the middle of next year with the top seven floors (30-36) of the office and hotel building of the Tokyo Garden Terrace complex.
“The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, with 250 rooms, will be our flagship hotel with a rate range of Bt30,000-Bt50,000, similar to luxury hotels in Tokyo,” he said.
The group operates 41 hotels in Japan under three brands – The Prince, Grand Prince Hotel and Prince Hotel – and eight hotels in Hawaii, Taiwan, Malaysia and China.
