JTB Inbound Trip Partners with WeWork Japan

JTB Inbound Trip (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Takashi Shimizu; hereinafter 'JIT'), a JTB Group company that provides data-driven content sales support and promotional activities for the inbound tourism market, has entered into a business partnership with WWJ Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Keitaro Kumagai; hereinafter 'WeWork Japan'), which operates a flexible office business, to jointly promote a coworking hub business aimed at regional revitalization. By redefining spaces under the concept of 'new coworking hubs where satellite workers gather,' the partnership will develop 'work x travel' environments where nomad workers and business professionals can work comfortably while staying in tourist destinations. At the same time, it aims to create new customer touchpoints by promoting the use of idle spaces in facilities owned by tourism operators and strengthening their operational systems. Background of the Partnership While domestic tourism demand has been expanding steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic, there are regional differences in the pace of recovery and growth. In particular, regions struggling to attract individual travelers continue to face situations where the occupancy rates of accommodations and tourism resources have not fully recovered. To solve these issues, JIT is collaborating with WeWork Japan to create new human traffic by attracting business travelers to tourist destinations. By utilizing idle spaces in hotels and tourist facilities to create 'coworking spaces' where people can gather and interact with the local community, the partnership will generate stay-based human traffic and interaction. Through this initiative, the companies aim to build a sustainable regional economic model. By combining JIT's expertise in the inbound tourism business, the JTB Group's network and regional cooperation capabilities, and WeWork Japan's expertise in workspace operation, they aim to create new stay value in tourist destinations. This will create new customer segments for tourist areas and contribute to the sustainable development of the regional economy through the promotion of interaction both inside and outside the region. This will not only create new opportunities for tourist destinations to attract visitors but also create valuable spaces for 'staying and interacting' for companies and working individuals. Roles of Each Company - Discovery of regional resources and tourism facilities, and project management - Cooperation with regions and tourism operators utilizing the JTB Group network - Workspace design and spatial branding - User flow design and construction of comfortable work environments By combining the strengths of both companies, they aim to realize 'work x travel' coworking hubs that are rooted in the region and have high added value.