Formosa International Hotels Corp (FIH, 晶華國際酒店集團) yesterday signed a management contract with Japanese property developer Miniato Create Co for a budget hotel in Osaka that might start operations in December, as the company aims to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and boost its overseas footprint.
The budget hotel would be FIH’s 10th property under the Just Sleep brand and its first in an overseas market.
The company said it aims to take advantage of a much expected boom in tourism following Japan’s full reopening, which is likely to occur in the fourth quarter.
Photo courtesy of Formosa International Hotels Corp via CNA
After having been mostly closed to foreign visitors since 2020, Japan reopened its borders earlier this month to tour groups from 100 countries and regions, with independent tourists likely to be allowed entry later this year.
The Just Sleep Shinsaibashi would have 100 guestrooms within walking distance of the Osaka Metro’s Shinsaibashi Station, FIH said.
The hotel would be 25 minutes by car from Osaka International (Itami) Airport and one hour by local train from Kansai International Airport, the company said.
The hotel would target local Japanese travelers and tourists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and other Asian markets, it said.
Assorted surveys have shown that Japan is a favorite destination among Taiwanese tourists.
Osaka is an economic hub and the third most populous city in Japan, after Tokyo and Yokohama.
In related news, luxury hotel Mandarin Oriental Taipei (文華東方酒店) is recruiting more than 50 employees to meet an expected upturn in business in the second half of the year and shore up its guestroom, restaurant, kitchen and marketing operations.
Potential candidates could be based at overseas properties after completing nine months of training, if they show excellent potential to be a supervisor, it said.
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