The online tourism platform Despegar broke the paradigm of its purely digital origin to reinforce its omnichannel strategy. The company, which was one of the unicorns that emerged in the country, announced that it will expand its services with the opening of physical stores, both owned and franchised, in Argentina and Brazil, also focusing on technological innovation.
Grupo Despegar already has experience in this type of sales channel in Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico. “Extending this face-to-face assisted sale to Argentina and Brazil is a natural step within our plan,” said Paula Cristi, general manager of Despegar for Argentina and Uruguay.
“We incorporated physical stores to get closer to more customers. Hand in hand with a unique inventory of tourist services, the most advanced technology on the market and the best travel consultancy, now boosted by in-store service, we take a step forward in our strategy. We want more Latin Americans to be able to travel, which is why we not only focus on our offer and service, but also seek the best financing and prices to make traveling possible through the more than 150 financial agreements we have throughout our lives. the region,” he added.
Along the same lines, he added: “We are working with a specialized team to open our own stores and in advanced conversations to also open franchises. We expect to have our stores up and running in Argentina and Brazil during the second half of this year.”
This strategy reinforces the growth plan initiated with the acquisitions and the development of new businesses that the company has carried out in recent years. Since 2019, the Despegar Group added new operations, strengthening its commercial offer and achieving better results in each of them.
Likewise, the company continues to bet on the development of its B2B business through the HotelDO brand. The Company currently works with more than 12,000 travel agents in Latin America connected to its technological platform, which is expanding and is estimated to reach 18,000 agents in two years.
The recovery in travel demand in Latin America remains strong, having accelerated earlier in the year. This scenario contributed to increasing the company’s gross reserves by 44% in the first quarter, compared to the same period in 2022. Revenues in the first quarter of this year reached a record figure of US$158.7 million, 41% more than in the same period of 2022. Adjusted EBITDA grew 154% year-on-year to US$17.3 million, the highest since the first quarter of 2018.
Source: Ambito
