SHANGHAI, 25 April 2019: As Sports tourism expands in China and across Asia, ITB China recruits JTB Group as its official Sports Travel Partner.
ITB China, takes place from 15 to 17 May in Shanghai.
With over 1,000 offices in 38 countries and over 27.000 employees, JTB is one of the biggest travel agencies in the world.
Sports tourism is a growing segment that appears high up on the ITB China Conference agenda, a Chinese travel think tank, running parallel to the show.
On the second day, 16 May the think tank will kick off with a keynote speech followed by a panel discussion led by JTB’s Japan inbound business division senior manager Kiyoshi Fujita.
The panel discussion will focus on the winter sports market that is paying particular attention to the growth of Chinese markets for inbound travel to Japan.
Based on interviews with Chinese business leaders, sports travel will also be featured in this year’s ITB China Travel Trends Report, a yearly publication providing detailed analysis of Chinese market trends.
ITB China general manager David Axiotis said: “There is a huge potential of sports tourism in China. It is something most of the people will participate in at some point in their lives. Numerous Chinese tour operators are investing in growing the number of sports tourism products offered to Chinese travellers.”
The JTB Group was founded in 1912 as the Japan Tourist Bureau with the objective of contributing to the Japanese economy by bringing foreign visitors to Japan.
Some 100 years later it serves as a leader of growth in Japan’s tourism industry and one of the main drivers of Japan’s travel culture.
ITB China 2019 will take place from Wednesday to Friday, 15 to 17 May, at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre in Hall 1.
