The Shangri-La Hotel Tokyo having emerged well out of a difficult year with both the earthquake and Tsunami is optimistic about its growth trend. 
As Jens Moesker, general manager of the property explains to Travel Daily Middle East: “We feel much stronger and the year has panned out well. Local travel is resilient and we do see a lot of travel development.”
The hotel as part of its business plan has attracted a substantial segment of the corporate market. However the segment that needs an aggressive push is the leisure segment. “Japan as a destination and our hotel too have bounced back fairly quickly from the tough situation,” added Moesker.
With regards to the Middle East market, it is not that big in terms of numbers but has great potential according to Moesker. The Middle East is a niche market but there is definitely an interest in Japan as a destination and the Shangri-La brand. “The plan going forward is to strengthen our presence in region. This can be done by reaching out to our network of hotels and working closely with local national carriers,” added Moesker.
The travel agents also need to be made more aware of the destination both in terms of Shangri-La Tokyo’s room offerings as well as surrounding tourist attractions. This is necessary to offer a complete package.
Having worked out the methodology to tap in to travel agents, the key segments that Shangri-La is keen to work towards are the corporate and honeymooners. “We have quite a strong market for the honeymoon segment. Shopping is an important element that is well catered to by the Shangri-La due to its distinct and location – Tokyo station,” adds Moesker.
With a fairly new set-up , the Shangri-La Tokyo is just three and half year old and is gearing up well catering to its top markets which include Hong Kong, Singapore, US, UK and Germany. Exploring new avenues, Moesker says: “We want to explore the region and would like be the preferred hotel in Tokyo for Middle East travellers. We are well-geared to cater to all the needs of the Middle East traveller and we want our guests to talk about their experiences in the hotel. We are of the opinion that word of mouth is a very effective medium especially in this region.”
