JTB Group Acquires Kuoni Global Travel Services

The JTB Group has acquired all shares of Kuoni Travel Investment, i.e. Kuoni Global Travel Services, for an undisclosed sum. It will manage the new company under the JTB European managing company TPE.

JTB’s president & CEO Hiroyuki Takahashi said the acquisition is part of a plan to strengthen the inbound business from Asia to Europe. Kuoni Global Travel Services is one of the world’s leading travel companies with an important presence especially in Asian leisure and corporate groups visiting Europe, with high brand value from operating for more than 100 years.

Within the JTB family, Kuoni Global Travel Services will continue to operate as a neutral land operator to work with many companies other than JTB.

Insiders have been watching Kuoni closely for two reasons: it has been a major player in the European market for many years at the same time, in recent years, it has strategically been unloading portions of the company: Two years ago, the owner of German operator DER Touristik acquired Kuoni Group’s tour operating businesses.

A year later, EQT VII, the Swedish private equity company that owns Scandic Hotels purchased the Kuoni Group. The intention was to focus on the three core businesses of Kuoni: GTA, GTS (Kuoni Global Travel Services including Destination Management Specialists) and VFS.

Following that, EQT VII sold a chunk of Kuoni’s DMC network comprised of AlliedTPro US, Asian Trails, Austrailian Tours Management, Desert Adventures/Gulf Dunes Middle East and Private Safaris Africa, to Thomas Cook India.

The sale of Kuoni Global Travel Services (GTS), with its Group Travel Experts as well as the European and North American MICE businesses, to JTB Corporation, is the latest development.

To that end, Kuoni Group Travel Experts will continue as  a B2B organization that provides bespoke packaged tours for leisure and incentive groups and tour operators. Its Global MICE division curates meetings, events, incentives and congresses/conventions for clients in Europe and North America, trading under the Kuoni Destination Management, Kuoni Congress, and Conference & Touring brands. Both Kuoni Group Travel Experts and Global MICE (through Kuoni Destination Management) will retain its  New York office. 

The JTB Group is a Global Destination Management Company (Global DMC) with a worldwide network of 516 offices in 100 cities in 36 countries and regions, and with approximately 26,000 employees working together.

Some of Kuoni’s recent moves include:

– The GTA merger into the Hotelbeds Group, announced in April 2017. After a synergetic add-on acquisition in 2016, the merger into Hotelbeds represents a compelling opportunity for GTA to co-create a strong platform for future growth. EQT VII and the Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation will remain invested in the Hotelbeds Group to support its future growth trajectory.

– The sale of the Destination Management Specialists (DMS) to Thomas Cook India Group, announced in April 2017.

–  The sale of Kuoni Global Travel Services (GTS), with its Group Travel Experts as well as the European and North American MICE businesses, to JTB Corporation.