Travel agency closing rush May 25, 18:27 as seen by a reporter who visited more than 300 stores

Travel agency stores are disappearing from towns all over the country.


My hobby is collecting train tickets, and I have visited travel agencies all over the country, but the movement has been accelerating since the spring of 2020, when the infection with the new corona spread.


What's happening to the travel agency?

(NHK Matsuyama Broadcasting Station reporter Shigefumi Goto)

Travel agency stores that disappear rapidly

A travel agency is like a partner for "ticket iron" that collects tickets.

As a ticket iron, I have visited the stores of more than 300 travel agencies so far.



If you go to the store, you can purchase JR tickets for any section of the country, and of course you can arrange accommodations and purchase products that include transportation and accommodation.

And since the store name of the travel agency that issued the ticket is printed on the ticket, that is also one of the collection targets.



In Ehime prefecture, where I am, there have been a series of store closures since last year.

In April of last year, the Matsuyama branch of Meitetsu World Travel Service stopped operating at stores and decided to cancel ticketing.



In the fall, Kinki Nippon Tourist's Matsuyama branch moved to be treated as a sales office, and sales for individuals have already ended.



Even if I enter this year, the movement does not stop.



In January, JTB's largest store in Niihama City closed.

For this reason, the only JTB stores remaining in the prefecture are those that are in the department stores of Matsuyama City.

In April, Nippon Travel Agency withdrew from a prime location building in Matsuyama City.

We have decided to specialize in sales for corporations and groups.



These movements are not unique to Ehime Prefecture.



Major companies with stores nationwide have announced a series of policies to significantly reduce the number of stores.



Of these, Nippon Travel Agency announced in March last year that it would reduce the number of stores in the entire group to about 90 stores, which is less than half of the number in 2020, by the end of this fiscal year.

What is the reason for reducing the number of stores for individuals?

Travel agencies are particularly rushing to shrink over-the-counter sales for individuals.

The reason is that sales for individuals tend to be more costly than for corporations.



In the case of major travel agencies, there are many cases where you set up a roadside store in front of a station or on a main street, or move into a shopping mall, but the rent is high because of the good location.

Pamphlets are lined up in a row, layout costs are required to create a comfortable space, and above all, a considerable number of staff are required to handle customer service and consultation, and the burden of labor costs is heavy.



These high fixed costs are the bottleneck for over-the-counter sales.



Originally, it was pushed by the Internet-only reservation site before Corona, but the fact is that the drastic decrease in tourism demand due to Corona forced a drastic rationalization.

A way to start new businesses in the operation of "Roadside Station"

Under these circumstances, there have been movements to turn to offensive.



Fuji Travel Service, a travel agency in Matsuyama City, cut the number of stores by nearly half last year.

On the other hand, as a new business, we started to operate the roadside station.

"Michi-no-Eki Futami" in Iyo City, Ehime Prefecture was originally operated by a third sector funded by the city, but it was selected when it was proposed to the city's open recruitment to recruit designated managers, and it has been entrusted with operation since last year. I am.



Chika Nakagawa, the “stationmaster” of the roadside station, is an employee of this travel agency.

She used to sell travel goods and tickets at the Kochi sales office until last year, but after the store closed, she wanted to try a new job and she transferred to Ehime to take up the post of stationmaster.

Mr. Nakagawa


"I've been involved in the travel industry for 10 years, so I want to make use of that experience."

In order to increase the number of visitors to the roadside station, we have newly started to develop a direct market that sells agricultural products harvested in the area.

Until then, it only sold souvenirs, but soon after it was introduced, it became popular and is now the cornerstone of attracting customers.

In creating the sales floor, we made the layout easy to understand by making use of the know-how of supermarkets of the same group companies as travel agencies.

The cashier has adopted the same cashless payment as the supermarket.



A tour product unique to a travel agency is a tour product involving a roadside station.

About 5 km away from the roadside station, there is JR Shimonada Station (Iyo City), which is famous for its beautiful view of the sea from the platform and has become a tourist attraction.



The station is also famous for being used as a poster for the Seishun 18 Ticket, and is a familiar place for railroad fans.

On the outbound route, take the popular JR Shikoku sightseeing train "Iyonada Monogatari" and get off at Shimonada Station, and on the return route, the tour products that stop at the roadside station by bus were sold out immediately.

Mr. Nakagawa


"There are many tourist resources such as rape field and daffodil field in addition to Shimonada station, so I want to send information and come to Iyo city, a roadside station, because I want to see it. Will also lead to sales at the roadside station. "

A way to live in a contract business

In addition to operating the roadside station, this travel agency also undertakes the meal ticket business for the Ehime prefecture version of "Go To Eat" and the secretariat work for the benefit business for businesses.

We believe that such contracted businesses from local governments will become a major pillar of our business in the future.

Senior Manager Hiraoka


"We are also focusing on community exchange business and contract business that contribute to the community while providing travel that can be enjoyed safely and securely even in With Corona. Not only waiting for customers to come to the store We will go out and make proposals to local customers in a multi-purpose business. "

Other travel agencies are also focusing on these new businesses.

Last year, Nippon Travel Agency Co., Ltd. and Tobu Toptours Co., Ltd. were commissioned to operate the venues for large-scale vaccine vaccination centers established by the Self-Defense Forces in Tokyo and Osaka.



Each company is working to secure sales while actively entrusting the operation of accommodation facilities as well as vaccination venues in each region.

Hiroshima City's travel agency "Tabimachi Gate Hiroshima" is the designated manager of the rest house in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.



This company was originally a merger of Hiroshima Electric Railway and a travel agency under the Chugoku Shimbun called "Hiroden Chugoku Shimbun Travel".



In April of last year, in addition to the travel agency "Tabi", we changed the company name in order to make the business that conveys the charm of the region and the business that is outsourced by the local government, that is, the business related to "town", the main business.

Many competitors The key to survival is

Corona has made a big difference in the industry.



In the future, in addition to the travel industry, it will become increasingly important for travel agencies to develop new businesses such as contracted businesses from the national and local governments.



On the other hand, this field is also a field where there are already many competitors such as advertising agencies and consulting companies.



The key to the survival of a travel agency in the future is likely to be how much we can develop a business that makes use of the strengths unique to the travel industry, such as finding the appeal of the area and selling it to tourists.

Ehime Insight

* You can also read the article by Shigefumi Goto here.

After working at Matsuyama Broadcasting Station reporter


Shigeru Goto


and Oita Station, since 2020, as a Matsuyama Station Yugun, we have covered

about 98% of JR lines nationwide,


including public transportation, agriculture, and culture .