Japan-based Veltra, a major tours and activities brand serving the Asia Pacific region, is to file for an IPO by the end of 2018.
The company claims it will be the first public listing in the sector, with until now only Stromma in Sweden appearing on the Stockholm NASDAQ when it issued corporate bonds to be traded.
Veltra plans to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers Market on December, 25, the company says, following authorization by regulators this week.
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The company has 4,500 tours and activities available around the world for booking and, in recent years, has grown out of the original Japanese market that it has served since 1991.
City Discovery was bought by Veltra in February 2016, in a strategic move to expand the business into European and North American markets.
Since then the two brands have integrated their respective sales and partner relations, including the back office operations and IT services.
Some 18,000 travel agency partners worldwide have also been taken under the ownership of Veltra.
However, Veltra says it has taken the decision to close the City Discovery brand and fold all its consumer-facing services into the mothership.
No impact has been felt in terms of headcount, Veltra says, with co-founder Emmanuel Issaurat now chief alliance officer of the larger organization.