Cross Hotels & Resorts recognizes the opportunities in the Japanese inbound and outbound markets, and reinforces its expansion plans into the Japanese market by appointing Biz M Asia as their General Sales Agent (GSA) in Japan.
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.
Lead by Mary Tolentino, fondly known as ‘Mary San’ in the Japanese travel industry; Mary has over three decades of experience in sales and marketing and representing international hotel brands and independent properties in key destinations.
Her knowledge and extensive network in the industry will bring Cross Hotels & Resorts closer to the Japanese market and help Cross Hotels & Resorts become one of the favored hotel brands of choice for Japanese travelers both domestically and abroad.
Biz M Asia specializes in selling to professional 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 traveling to Japan each year. Vietnamese and Indonesian travelers to Japan grew substantially in previous years, with Japan welcoming approximately 260,000 travelers from these markets each year. Japanese outbound travelers to these same markets also grew significantly with approximately 1.7M Japanese visitors to Thailand, 260,000 to Bali and almost 1 million Japanese visitors to Vietnam over the same period.
“Cross Hotels & Resorts has 7 hotels in Japan; 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 travelers. Having a dedicated Japan based GSA is a demonstration of our commitment to growth and commitment to our local partners,” said Paul Wilson, Executive Vice President – Commercial, Cross Hotels & Resorts.
“Cross Hotels & Resorts has so much to offer. The unique designs that you experience in each property along with impeccable service and dynamic teams make them a perfect fit. We are proud to be working and representing Cross, Cross Vibe and Away in the Japanese Market,” said Mary Tolentino.
With its vision and effort, and robust sales and distribution supported by Flight Centre Travel Group, Cross Hotels & Resorts will be actively expanding across the Asia Pacific region in the coming years.
Cross Hotels & Resorts currently operate 22 hotels across three distinct brands – Cross, Cross Vibe and Away in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan.
