WITH an eye on China’s burgeoning outbound tourism, Hotelbeds has acquired JBS, a US-based company dedicated to the Chinese accommodation wholesaler market.
Established in 2001 by Chinese-born US residents Juliann Meng, Barbara Ansel and Sarah Gao, JBS works with China-based tour operators and travel consultants as well as DMCs active in incoming tourism from China.
Hotelbeds and JBS will build on relationships with tour operators and travel distributors in China to drive more business to all destinations in the US, including maximising and increasing the partnerships both companies have with hotels and destination services providers.
Javier Arevalo, regional managing director, Hotelbeds Americas, said: “JBS is a well-respected company that has built up a strong position in the ‘China to US’ market. We are delighted that they are now working with us to maximise the opportunities between both markets.”
Juliann Meng of JBS Group added: “The Chinese market is growing rapidly, and many destinations in the US will see the benefit from this as the market grows and matures.”
The US has become an increasingly important destination for Chinese travellers, which currently represent about five per cent of total US inbound tourist expenditure and is expected to grow at a rate of over 25 per cent per year in the next five years.
