With its acquisition of 40 percent of the shares of Panorama Tours Indonesia (PTI)—the company is headquartered in Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta—global tour operator and travel agency JTB intends to accelerate expansion of its outbound business, as well as inbound traffic to Japan from Indonesia.
JTB, the largest travel company in Japan, has been expanding its business in Asia by launching new offices and outlets, establishing joint ventures and acquiring corporations in Asia. As a as part of its “Vision 2020,” the company expects to become the No. 1 travel agency in Asia.
JTB’s Jakarta branch will be integrated into PTI after the acquisition is completed on March 24, and the trade name of PTI will be changed to Panorama JTB Tours.
In a statement on the JTB website, Hiroyuki Takahashi, JTB president and CEO, said, “Moving forward, we will engage in full-fledged development of our business model, from one that has until now considered human interactions predominantly in terms of outbound travel from Japan, to a model that is global in outlook, with a focus on Asia.”
Panorama JTB Tours will seek a three-pronged strategy, including expanding leisure travel from Indonesia by leveraging PTI’s strong sales channels and the Panorama JTB brand; growing corporate and MICE business in Indonesia; and increasing Japan inbound business through promoting new and major destinations in the country.
One of the largest tourism groups in Indonesia, PTI was established in 1998. It has grown to more than 51 outlets and 800 employees across the archipelago nation.
