Smarter support that keeps pace with global travel
For 100 years, JTB Corp. (JTB) has been the heartbeat of Japanese tourism. What sets Japan’s largest travel agency apart is trust. Its customers want to feel confident and cared for, which only comes from human expertise. JTB’s vision is clear: instead of replacing human expertise, amplify it.
Today, the $6.5 billion business has evolved to become a solutions provider for the broader tourism industry. It offers everything from destination marketing to regional investment plans, event management to data analytics. Yet even as the business becomes increasingly diverse, one thing remains constant: the human touch.
To meet the challenges of a changing industry, JTB is rethinking how it empowers its people to deliver exceptional customer service. ServiceNow is a key part of this journey. JTB is using the ServiceNow AI Platform to create consistent, connected experiences across the entire organization.
“What matters to travelers is changing,” says Kyoji Kuroda, Managing Executive Officer, CIO/CISO, JTB Corp. “They need instant rebooking, synced expenses, support for last-minute changes across time zones, and a new level of seamless, personalized customer service.”
Now, JTB is transforming customer engagement, simplifying IT management, and enabling new projects to be delivered more efficiently—all powered by a single platform.
“The goal is to strengthen trust in our services,” says Kuroda. “With ServiceNow, we are redefining the future of travel.”
Creating a connected travel ecosystem
JTB is made up of more than 100 distinct companies. These individual companies can determine the best approach to addressing challenges within their niche of the tourism industry, but JTB wanted to standardize many of its group-wide processes with an aim to organically integrate the entire travel experience.
“Our digital capabilities are key to driving business value,” explains Kuroda. “Our goal is to connect people, places, and cultures to shape a new future for our group. To achieve this vision, modernizing our systems with a unified infrastructure is essential.”
However, rapid growth, acquisitions, and the diversity of the group created silos and bureaucratic processes. In one case, a single workflow required 23 separate approvals.
“Many different company cultures remained, and our processes weren’t fully standardized. Productivity suffered,” says Ryo Miura, Manager of IT Planning, JTB Corp. “We needed a partner who could simplify internal complexity and help us meet customer expectations.”
Cutting approval times in half to accelerate decision making
The JTB ServiceNow journey began with the goal of simplifying internal IT requests and approvals with ServiceNow IT Service Management (ITSM). The group had multiple systems for IT management, hampering its ability to ensure consistent service.
“Connecting our processes digitally would improve our ability to make quick and informed decisions,” says Miura. “We recognized the strengths of ServiceNow ITSM and the wider capability of the ServiceNow AI Platform.”
The results were dramatic. By unifying IT request processes on ServiceNow ITSM, the new system cut approval times from 3.5 to 1.7 days.
“With our old system, we could only handle requests and approvals on a computer. Now, with ServiceNow, we can do everything right from a smartphone—anytime, anywhere,” says Miura. “It really shows the level of standardization and flexibility that the old system simply couldn’t offer.”
A five-month shift to smarter, connected operations
Encouraged by this initial success, JTB quickly introduced ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM). Now, JTB can bring consistent workflows across the group for everything from collecting project ideas and securing approvals to implementation, progress tracking, governance, and real-time budget management.
“ServiceNow SPM gives us a complete view of all system development projects across the company,” says Miura. “It aligns our project portfolio with our business strategy and maximizes ROI.
“In tandem, ServiceNow ITSM and SPM have transformed our business operations in just five months—shifting us from fragmented processes to smarter, connected operations.”
Travel support, powered by AI and guided by humans
JTB then looked for an opportunity to take advantage of the AI features within the ServiceNow AI Platform. The focus was on driving process automation and helping users to self-serve.
Within the group, JTB Business Travel Solutions (JTB-CWT)—a subsidiary that supports corporate customers with end-to-end business travel management from travel arrangements to expenses—presented an ideal opportunity.
JTB-CWT previously accepted inquiries from customers by telephone, email, and chatbots. Using ServiceNow Customer Service Management (CSM), JTB-CWT built a unified service portal called Bizvance JTB Booking, centralizing these channels. Using GenAI, Now Assist
provides answers based on previous customer experiences. JTB-CWT built this AI-powered, next-generation communication portal in just six weeks.
The process is simple: corporate customers type their questions in, and AI agents search and suggest relevant answers. The customers can then resolve the issues themselves or connect directly with human support when needed. Case progress is visible on the customer’s home dashboard.
“The new hybrid model combines AI efficiency with human care—no phone calls, no waiting, no stress. Access to knowledge base articles is high, while support tickets have decreased, a sign that ServiceNow AI Agents are really working,” says Yohko Oyama, Section Manager, IT Planning Department, JTB Business Travel Solutions.
Echoing the impact on customer experience,Takehiko Wakatsuki, General Manager, Sales Planning Department, JTB Business Travel Solutions, explains: “Prior to the deployment of ServiceNow CSM, customers were using scenario-based chatbots. The use of ServiceNow’s AI Agents provides natural, conversational answers to customer inquiries rather than standard responses.”
On the operational side, JTB-CWT has consolidated three communication channels into one, with less customer complaints. In phase two, JTB-CWT will add new features and expand ServiceNow AI Agents into more support functions.
“When AI blends data and human expertise, that’s where the magic happens,” says Kuroda. “Working with ServiceNow didn't just modernize our systems; it gave us the confidence and tools to invent the next generation of travel services.”