JTB has reached an agreement with the world-leading BtoB tourism media ‘Northstar Travel Group (NTG) to acquire all stocks of NTG, which has 14 tourism media brands, such as Travel Weekly, Phocuswright or Business Travel News, and organizes more than 100 tourism events in 13 countries.
Placing expansion of its global business and reform of the business model as one of the strategy pillars, JTB intends to optimize updated knowledge, a tourism industry network and marketing solutions NTG has in order to accelerate the group’s growth.
After acquiring NTG, JTB will target geographic expansion for the exiting media brands, investments in events, information services, market intelligence, and other strategic lines of business associated with the travel industry.
“Today's announcement marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for JTB Group," said Eijiro Yamakita, President and CEO of JTB Group. "Northstar brings outstanding expertise and fresh perspectives that perfectly align with our strategic vision. By operating Northstar as an independent subsidiary, we preserve their neutral market position while creating a powerful platform for delivering superior customer experiences. We are confident this structure will unlock significant growth potential while contributing to the innovation and future growth of the travel industry.”
The transaction is expected to close in September 2025. Even after that, NTG will be managed as independent and neutral JTB’s 100% subsidiary.
