#Japan #Tokyo #JTB Group #Global DMC #Tourism Business

JTB Group's Performance in Q2 of FY2026

The JTB Group has recently announced its consolidated financial results for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2026. This period marks the initiation of Phase 3 of their new mid-term management plan, dubbed "New Exchange Creation Vision," which focuses on business model transformation, strengthening the management base, and promoting sustainable growth in a recovering tourism industry.

Overall Overview

The tourism sector witnessed a vigorous rebound, with total transactions from April to August showing a 3.6% increase compared to the previous year. The domestic market particularly benefitted from the Osaka-Kansai Expo, driving demand and propelling the number of inbound visitors to over 30 million from January to September—the fastest growth on record. Against this backdrop, JTB Group managed to surpass its previous year’s results across all travel sectors, especially in inbound and global travel. Additionally, the Meetings & Events and Business Travel segments reported remarkable growth beyond forecasts.

To achieve long-term growth, JTB Group made strategic investments in people, enhancing wages and workforce levels, and upgrading core systems. These initiatives led to an increase in revenue and profit, outperforming both plans and the previous year's results.

Global Achievements

In the global realm, the JTB Group's DMC business, particularly in Europe, performed exceptionally well, significantly exceeding last year’s results. Their cross-group initiative, the "Expo Sales Promotion Project," resulted in successful business execution and maximization of profits within various operational areas. JTB also made a pivotal investment decision regarding the acquisition of shares in Northstar Travel Group, a leading B2B media company in the tourism sector, aiming to accelerate global business expansion and transformation of their business model.

Highlights by Business Segment

Tourism Business

• - Corporate Sector: Comprehensive solutions targeting the education and corporate markets have led to significantly surpassed performance. JTB secured rights for planning, operation, and sales of the official hospitality and travel program for the World Baseball Classic in March 2026, enhancing their Sports & Entertainment business.
• - Individual Sector: Prioritizing customer feedback, the company has made strides in enhancing customer experience through improved digital functionalities and expanded premium membership benefits, thereby deepening customer relationships across various channels.
• - Inbound Travel Sector: A robust framework has been established to promote inbound travel, focusing on creating business opportunities tailored to regional and customer characteristics.

Area Solutions Business

• - Tourism DX Sector: Utilizing the JTB BÓKUN platform for centralized management of activity product inventory and reservations, the group effectively capitalized on booming inbound demand, achieving record monthly throughput. Initiatives such as hands-free tourism for alleviating overtourism and digital promotions to encourage regional explorations in Osaka were also developed.
• - Tourism Infrastructure Support Sector: The group successfully leveraged the rise in interest from changes in the furusato tax point system, exceeding initial projections. The sales of the official guidebook for the Osaka-Kansai Expo were strong, and collaboration with Alibaba Japan led to the creation of a multilingual regional information portal to boost overseas tourism and invigorate local economies.
• - Area Development Sector: The launch of a new nighttime entertainment show, the "OSAKA VARIETY ACT SHOW," at the Dotonbori Chuza provides an exciting attraction for foreign tourists, enhancing the area's duration of stay and expenditure.

Business Solutions Business

• - ABM Strategy for Expansion: Responding to the resurgent corporate activities, the implementation of an Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategy saw substantial improvements in the Meetings & Events and BPO areas.
• - Meetings & Events Sector: They successfully adapted to the post-COVID market recovery, implementing strategic feedback processes to enhance conversion rates and improve profitability through better pricing strategies.
• - Business Travel Sector: The transition to a new system, "Bizvance Business Travel Reservations," was smoothly executed, expanding the customer base and promoting operational efficiency.

Global Growth Areas

• - JTB's Global DMC operations thrived by capturing Asian demand in Europe, maintaining high profitability while expanding its service offerings. The Sintour product line allowed for customized travel experiences and reported robust revenue performance.
• - In MICE sectors, the foundation has been strengthened despite maintaining previous year’s performance, while new projects in the Asia-Pacific region were secured, including collaborations with Spotnana and Goodwings to improve business travel management.

Future Outlook

For the latter half of FY2026, JTB Group is targeting an operating profit of 12 billion yen while accelerating business model transformations. This involves connecting customer and product strategies to expand overseas travel operations and implementing sustainable growth through portfolio reform. JTB will also focus on building a strong business foundation with an emphasis on digital transformation and sustainability initiatives, as well as improving management efficiency to enhance profitability and financial stability. JTB Group is committed to delivering new value to its customers and contributing to society through these initiatives.

For more details regarding the Q2 FY2026 financial results, please visit the JTB Group website.

JTB Group aims to continuously foster connections between people and organizations while enhancing local and organizational values, leveraging digital platforms to create sustainable human flow and information exchange.