Stayat.jp Launches Online Hotel and Japanese Inn Reservation Site for Overseas Travelers to Japan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tokyo, Japan – January 16, 2006 / Mercury 22, a Tokyo-based internet company, and Kinki Nippon Tourist (KNT), one of the country’s largest travel agencies, today began joint operation of an online hotel and ryokan (Japanese inn) reservation site, Stayat.jp, aimed at American and European travelers. This is the first time in Japan that a travel agency is jointly operating an inbound travel site with another company.

Mercury 22 and KNT will be pooling their resources, including Mercury 22’s marketing know-how and KNT’s strengths in securing inventory to spark demand for inbound travel to Japan.

The two companies will also carry out joint internet marketing and promotion campaigns.

Toru Iwasaki, Mercury 22’s President & CEO, is optimistic about the venture saying that, “There are not many European or American online travel sites where people can make reservations at Japanese inns.”

Stayat.jp currently lists about 300 hotels and Japanese inns throughout Japan, but plans to increase this number to about 700 by April and 1,000 by the end of the year. Mercury 22 and KNT also plan to develop other foreign language versions of the sites, including Chinese and Korean.

Going forward, the two companies will carry out aggressive sales promotion campaigns with the goal of reaching 15,000 users and sales of 300 million yen (about 2.6 million dollars) in 2006.

By jointly operating the Stayat.jp site with KNT, Mercury 22 will be able to secure its inventory of hotel and ryokan rooms and effectively promote the service online.

Mercury 22 and KNT started their business alliance on May 1, 2005 with the goal of creating a new business model for the Japanese travel industry. The two companies have jointly developed internet-based travel products, distribution and sales systems and internet marketing campaigns.

Mercury 22 is a Tokyo-based internet company specializing in travel-related, media, and advertising services. Its Tabi2 travel and community site has attracted over 50,000 registered users since it was launched on July 1, 2005. The company expects Tabi2 membership to grow to 500,000 on sales of 5 billion yen (about 43.7 million dollars) in 2006. Mercury 22 is a subsidiary of Invisible Hand and Cyber Communications Inc, both based in Tokyo.

CONTACT
Mercury 22 Inc.
Nancy Tonnu
Tel: +81-3-3459-5548
Fax: +81-3-3459-8848
Email: info@mercury22.co.jp

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Contact Information

Nancy Tonnu

Inbound Travel Division Director

Mercury 22 Inc.

Contact via E-mail