Rakuten Travel isn’t just for Japanese travelers booking hotels in Taiwan — it also offers Taiwanese travelers access to 20,000 hotels in Japan

▲Rakuten Travel held its 2015 Taiwan Market Strategy Announcement on March 12. From left to right: Kazunobu Yamamoto, Chairman of Rakuten Travel Japan; Kao Lien-Hua, Taiwan Business Director of Rakuten Travel; and Cheng Yi-Ping, Section Chief of the International Division at the Tourism Bureau. (Photo / Reporter Chen Shih-Chang)

Reported by Chen Shih-Chang / Taipei

Kazunobu Yamamoto, Chairman of Rakuten Travel Japan, visited Taiwan on the 12th to announce the company’s 2015 market strategy for Taiwan. He stated that in 2014, Rakuten Travel’s global turnover reached 6 trillion Japanese yen, with Japanese travelers booking Taiwanese hotels through Rakuten showing a remarkable growth of 23.5%. This year, the company will launch more comprehensive travel services, improve product presentation, and expand mobile and multilingual sales.

Currently, Rakuten Travel’s main offerings include online flight bookings, hotel reservations, and flight + hotel package sales. Many independent Japanese travelers book Taiwanese hotels through Rakuten. Cheng Yi-Ping, Section Chief of the International Division at the Tourism Bureau, noted that last year, 1.6 million Japanese travelers visited Taiwan, with 60-70% traveling independently. It is estimated that around 100,000 hotel bookings were made through the Rakuten system, making Rakuten Travel one of Japan’s top five travel agencies sending visitors to Taiwan.

Kao Lien-Hua, Taiwan Business Director of Rakuten Travel, mentioned that in addition to serving Japanese travelers booking hotels in Taiwan “before their trip,” the company plans to develop services for “during their trip,” such as taxi services after their arrival in Taiwan. Additionally, Taiwanese travelers can directly book around 20,000 hotels in Japan through the Rakuten platform, with future plans to expand to international hotel bookings.