HOSHINO Resorts is planning to tap surging arrivals from Thailand and grow its customer base from the kingdom to 10 per cent within the next three years, said the hotelier’s director of global marketing.
Fumi Miyauchi said while Japan received some 453,000 Thai tourists in 2013, a record growth of 74 per cent from the year before, Thai visitors currently account for just one to two per cent of guests across the brand’s chain of 32 properties.
“We want to grow the Thai market to 10 per cent of guests within the next three years,” she said. “We currently don’t have many contracts with travel consultants in Thailand, but we have implemented plans since last year to change this. We are currently developing plans to run fam trips for travel consultants and media from Thailand to our properties.”
Senior sales and marketing executives are in Thailand for the second time since November to strengthen their relationships with local outbound operators and consultants. The brand will also visit its two other target markets, Singapore and Malaysia, next month, which currently account for five to six per cent and under one per cent of its guests respectively.
Hoshino will target young families from within the region, emphasising its ice park and snow palace products, in contrast to promoting snowboarding and skiing to more activity-focused tourists from Australia.
Japan exempted tourists from Thailand – its six largest source market – from visa requirements mid last year (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 14, 2013), which together with the devalued yen, catalysed record arrivals from the country.
Hoshino is opening two properties in Japan and its first overseas resort in Bali this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 13, 2013).
