LVCVA's man in Tokyo atypical of reserved isn't Japanese

TOKYO -- From the outside, it looks like any of the millions of signs in front of the thousands of buildings that stretch from horizon to horizon in this city of 12 million people.

Unless a visitor knows how to read Japanese, he'd never figure the Gyoen Building to have any connection to Las Vegas at all. No pictures of showgirls, no buffet come-ons, no flashing neon.

But once a visitor steps off the elevator on the ninth floor, the connection begins to be made. There's a cardboard cutout of Vegas Vic and some art more indicative of the dazzle with which tourists have become familiar.

And inside the 400-square-foot office, all the free wall space is covered with everything Nevada. Pictures of properties and significant personalities of Southern Nevada are everywhere. MGM Grand, Hilton, Mirage, Caesars Palace, Circus Circus, Imperial Palace, Stratosphere and a host of others are all represented. Tourist attractions from Hoover Dam to Lake Tahoe are included.

In a prominent spot near the door is a plaque on the wall from the Travel Management Club, which publishes TM magazine. The TM Grand Prix Awards, sponsored by the Travel Consultants of Japan, TM and the Japan Foundation for International Tourism, recognized the office for its effort in promoting Japanese tourism. The office was the first North American tourism bureau to win the International Tourism Office of the Year award this year.

This is the world of Kyosuke Okada, the manager of the tiny office, who represents the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the Nevada Commission on Tourism. If the office, across the street from a garden known as Shinjaku Gyoen, is Okada's world, Asia is his universe. Not only do he, his wife, Michiko, and one staff member cover Japan, but they also field questions from and make visits throughout Asia.

The approach taken by Okada and his wife is atypical of that of most Japanese. While Japanese society generally is reserved, Okada has a bubbling personality and a smile that can light up a room. Known as "Oka" to his close associates, Okada moves gracefully between perfectly spoken English and Japanese.

During Gov. Bob Miller's tourism mission to Japan this month, he occasionally served as a translator for the Nevada group.

Okada enjoys the quiet neighborhood of the Gyoen Building, which also is home to lawyers, architects and a French tourism office. Uncharacteristic of Las Vegas, it's not on a bustling street teeming with people, and the vast open-air overlook of the garden below can be tranquil.

But once Tokyo comes alive, so does the office.

"It seems that the telephone never quits ringing when we're here," Okada said.

It apparently never quits ringing when they're not there, either. It's not uncommon for Okada to have more than 50 messages to return from overnight. He has installed some high-tech communications solutions to deal with the volume -- broadcast fax and fax-on-demand technology -- and he keeps in touch with Las Vegas via e-mail to cut costs. He has 59 pages of information available to clients seeking more about Nevada.

He rarely works directly with traveling consumers, instead focusing his attention on meeting the needs of travel agents. But that takes a lot of time. Okada said 90 percent of Japanese consumers use travel agents when they make their plans. He added that there are about 10,000 travel agencies operating in Japan.

Those travel agents provide Las Vegas with a fertile tourism market, making Japan the city's top international market for tourists. That market generated 310,000 visitors to Las Vegas in 1996 and 411,000 visitors in 1997.

"That's a prime example of the value of that office," said Rossi Ralenkotter, vice president of marketing for the LVCVA.

With 19 percent of Las Vegas visitors coming from outside the United States, Asia represents a growth market for the 21st century, Ralenkotter said. Having a presence there allows the city to place its product before consumers, he added.

In addition to handling the needs of Japan, Okada is on the road throughout Asia, recently attending trade shows in Bangkok and Taipei. He also was in Chicago earlier for a major travel convention, stopping in Las Vegas to lend support for the new Northwest Airlines nonstop flight between Tokyo and McCarran International Airport.

Okada's typical presentation is to appear at dinners and travel functions and offer print and multimedia presentations on Nevada in general and Las Vegas specifically. At some events, he'll sponsor a casino night during which professional dealers explain some of Nevada's table games and offer no-stakes games.

The work is challenging. With thousands of travel agencies to accommodate throughout Asia with minimal staff, it's impossible to get to everybody. There's no space wasted in Okada's office, but even in such a tiny venue, expenses are high -- the rent on the 400 square feet is $3,000 a month.

That's why ventures such as Circus Circus' bid to open five offices throughout Asia is extraordinary -- especially in a time of economic downturn in Asia.

Michael Mecca, general manager of Mandalay Bay, was among the contingent accompanying Miller on his tourism mission, but he spent much of his time working toward the opening of a Tokyo office by September. Mecca said his company, which is marketing all Circus properties and not just Mandalay Bay, will open an office in Taipei this week and another in Bangkok next fall. Facilities in Singapore and Hong Kong already have opened.

Hilton Hotels Corp. has an even greater presence in Asia, but those offices support hotel properties worldwide. Michael Gasta, who oversees the casino end worldwide, also accompanied the governor and made presentations on Hilton's Nevada hotel-casino properties as well as the 1999 opening of the Paris hotel-casino property on the Strip.

Members of the group accompanying the governor agreed that the role of a casino's Asian office is evolving as efforts are made to draw more people to Las Vegas. In the past, the primary focus of an Asian outpost was to deliver high-rollers to the casinos. Now the market is expanding to include a wider economic strata.

Because of the addition of nonstop flights between Tokyo and Las Vegas on Northwest and Japan Airlines, Okada sees his role increasing. Rolenkotter said the addition of those flights offers the opportunity both to expand the number of Asian visitors to Las Vegas and to increase how long they stay.

Okada was part of a business -- Japan Center Co. -- that represented the LVCVA in the early 1990s when the company was liquidated about three years ago. Okada decided to go out on his own and captured the competitive bid from the LVCVA. He has been its representative ever since.

He doesn't seem particularly optimistic about expansion, especially since the LVCVA is pinching pennies now in an era when a flat tourism market spells a drop-off in room-tax revenues. The office will operate on a $220,000 budget for fiscal year 1998-99.

The LCVCA didn't send a Las Vegas delegate on the governor's mission even though it has worked hard for more than two years to inaugurate direct flights between Tokyo and McCarran International.

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