, is a travel agency located in Sumida-ku,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and a part of Tobu Group. Its old name was Tokyu Tourist Corporation (東急観光株式会社 ''Tōkyū Kankō Kabushiki Gaisha'') a part of Tokyu Group before it became independent from it in 2004. In 2006, the company renamed to TopTour Corporation (トップツアー株式会社 ''Topputsuā Kabushiki Gaisha''). has over 100 branches in Japan, and offices in London, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Guam, Sydney, Gold Coast (Australia), Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Singapore. On April 1, 2015, merged with Tobu Travel Co., Ltd. (東武トラベル株式会社 ''Tōbu Toraberu Kabushiki Gaisha''), renamed to Tobu Top Tours Corporation, and head office moved to

Tokyo Skytree is a broadcasting and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010Japan Rail Pass The , also called the JR Pass, is a rail pass for overseas visitors sold by the Japan Railways Group, and is valid for travel on all major forms of transportation provided by the JR Group in Japan, with a few exceptions. The Rail Pass is designed ...

es, more commonly known as a JR Pass.

History

1949-2015

Prior to the April 2015 Merger, Top Tours and Tobu Travel Company existed as two separate entities operating within separate special wards of

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. Top Tours was founded as in

Shibuya-ku Shibuya (渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1, 2 ...

, in January 1958, with Tobu Travel Company being founded under the name of in the neighboring ward of Minato-ku in December 1949. During the 1970s, both companies underwent separate mergers, with Tokyu Tourist Corporation merging with Tokyu Travel Service Co. in April 1972, LTD and Zen Nihon Kanko Co., LTD. merging with Tobu Tetsudo Kanko in July 1971 after changing their name to Tobu Travel Company, LTD in April of that year. On the 50th Anniversary of the 2006, Top Tours changed its name to TopTour Corporation, and went under the umbrella of the Tobu Group in August 2013. The two companies merged on April 1, 2015.

2015 Merger-Present

On April 1, 2015, Tobu Travel Company and Top Tours merged under the Tobu Group. The company is currently operating under Tobu Top Tours. As of 2015, there are over 100 active offices within Japan, with 2,280 active employees. The company is valued at an estimate of ¥3,000,000,000 (Capital). In June 2015, the office headquarters relocated to the Tokyo Skytree East Tower. Tobu Top Tours holds memberships with the Japan Association of Travel Agents, Japan Association of Travel Agents Compensation Security Bond System, Travel Agency Fair Trade Council, PATA, ASTA, and UFTAA.

Expansion

Tobu Top Tours currently holds offices outside of Japan in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Expansion of the company began in December 1964 with the founding of Tokyu Travel Service Inc. in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In July 1986, another overseas branch, Tokyu Travel Europe Ltd., was established in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Since the 2015 merger, the companies have been renamed Top Tour America, Inc. (TTA, Inc.) and Top Tour Europe Limited (TTE), respectively. TTA, Inc.'s headquarters relocated from Los Angeles to

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...

in 2001, and TTE's headquarters are in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. Both TTA, Inc. and TTE are independent subsidiary companies of Tobu Top Tours.

TopTour America

TopTour's branches in the

are referred to as TopTour America, Incorporated founded January 1, 1964. It is commonly referred to as TTA, Inc. TTA, Inc. has four offices:

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. The Los Angeles office serves as the American headquarters. While New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco offices handle both inbound and outbound travel and act as a destination management company and full-service travel management company, Honolulu currently services US inbound travel only. TopTour America offers group tours, incentive tours, flights, and hotels for travel around the world, mainly in organizing

meeting A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision making. Defini ...

s and conference exhibitions arrangements in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

, including

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

TopTour Europe

TopTour has a branch in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

under name TopTour Europe Limited which was founded in 1986. TopTour Europe offers similar services to TopTour America, with inbound and outbound travel mostly originating and terminating in European countries.TopTour Europe
/ref>

References

{{reflist

External links

Tobu Top Tours Corporation
official website
TopTour Europe

TTA, Inc.
Travel and holiday companies of Japan Service companies based in Tokyo Sumida, Tokyo Transport companies established in 1956 1956 establishments in Japan