TokyoTomo Travel Guide

The fast-changing business climate in the travel industry makes it difficult to keep a job at the travel agency, but there are a few companies emerging that make a business of job placement offer. Travel I Corp., a Category-One travel agency in Tokyo, launches such business by offering a job opportunity in two ways – assigning a job either as an employee or as a subcontractor on consignment basis. The agency put out a call on July 1, to start with, for applicants who work as an employee. They are supposed to work for a certain division as a full-time employee and get paid partly fixed salary and partly performance-based compensation. Meanwhile, those who work as a subcontractor are responsible for a branch office operation as a sub-agent. In whichever case, Travel I charges them administrative costs as a monthly fee and royalty as the source of revenue.

Yoshiharu Nishijima, president of Travel I Corp., speculates that the financial pressure caused by airlines’ zero commission, dominance of online travel agencies, and cutthroat price competition will inevitably drive many travel agencies to alliances, merger and acquisition (with restructuring entailed), insolvency, or liquidation. As a result, many people are in danger of being thrown out of their jobs, he points out, but there are very few enterprises to take care of them within the industry. Travel I has a history of having supported those who aspire to go independent, but now it decided to shake up the business model and make a step toward job placement.

The assumed applicants are those who have experience in the trade and have hold of a number of customers. Their work style, in case of an employee agreement, is based at Travel I’s office and is to take up a job in observance of its company rules. In case of a subcontractor, the nominee works as a sub-agent of Travel I and runs an independent branch office. He may be able to work from home, but needs to get a travel license as a sub-agent.

Travel I sets a goal of making an agreement with 100 people in the capacity of individual employees and 60 people for subcontractors. It aims to earn royalty and strengthen buying power.

Source: Travel Vision

Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.