Financial troubles due to the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 is bringing consolidation to Japan’s travel market. Latest consolidation move is the merge of Kinki Nippon Tourist Co. with Club Tourism International Inc.
TOKYO- Kinki Nippon Tourist Co. announced last Friday that it will merge with Club Tourism International Inc., one of the leading travel agencies in Japan. The merge will take place on January 1st, 2013. The move is made in order to cut costs and boost earnings amid an increasingly harsher business environment.
The new firm will be called KNT-CT Holdings. With a combined turnover of ¥ 500 billion, the new entity will take over Nippon Travel Agency Co. as one of Japan’s largest travel company. Kintetsu Corp. Senior Executive Vice President Kazuyoshi Togawa will serve as president of the merged firm and Kinki Nippon President Katsuhisa Yoshikawa will become chairman.
Kinki Nippon and Club Tourism are both group firms of railway operator Kintetsu.
KNT has 34 subsidiaries including 13 travel agencies in Japan and another 13 overseas. The operating revenue of KNT for the financial year 2011 decreased by 11% at ¥ 55.4 billion as travel demand fell sharply following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Operating income totalled ¥ 1.1 billion yen, a decrease of 30.8%.
Club Tourism has been around for over 30 years and serve some four million customers every year for domestic and overseas tours. The company offers tour packages including many done on buses. In financial year 2010, Club Tourism annual sales reached ¥ 131.4 billion.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
