2023-09-08 00:45:46
LOOK: Peruvian team: how many fans will travel to follow the red and white to Paraguay and Chile?
– What is the balance of the Despegar group so far this year?
At a general level, this second quarter we reached our revenue record with 23% more than last year as a Despegar group, being our sixth consecutive semester of positive results. On the gross reserves side, they were US$1.3 billion, 16% more than in the second quarter of 2022. This clearly helps us reflect the solid business strategy we have. By itself, the second quarter is necessarily the strongest of the year and we have had super good growth and this is due both to the recovery in demand for travel in Latin America, to the profitability that we have achieved and to our strategy that a few years ago we decided to be omnichannel. We have online sales, virtual advisors, the ‘app’ and local locations. In the case of Peru we cannot give specific data, but it is aligned.
– You have also commented on the expansion of Viajes Falabella’s physical stores, what is the growth plan with them?
The truth is that it is super disruptive and in Peru we have just opened our store number 15, in the ‘mall’ of Real Plaza Salaverry. We have nine stores in Lima and 5 in the provinces. This year we are also going to open our first solo stand at the Jockey Plaza, aiming to open more Viajes Falabella modules. And at the regional level this year we are going to open 10 physical stores in Brazil and five in Argentina as the Despegar brand. This is leveraged on the experience we already have with Viajes Falabella and we hope to have news on that side soon for Peru as well.
– Are there concrete plans for Despegar to jump from the digital world to the offline world with physical travel agencies in Peru as they already have with Viajes Falabella?
Yes, there are plans. It is part of the expansion and growth strategy, so we have to define how we are going to do it. But yes, it is the idea and we hope to hear from you soon.
– Next year we could already see the Despegar brand with a store in Peru?
Let’s hope so, it is the plan in Argentina and Brazil, where they are already confirmed. Peru should not be oblivious to this.
– What would be the difference between the two brands now that both will have stores? Viajes Falabella seems to be more associated with package tours.
We are omnichannel brands and we want to offer different types of customers what is right for them. What we are looking for with physical stores is advice, personalization, we want to work very hand in hand with customers and put together the complete package, assisted sales, circuits, selling cruises. In itself, broaden our palette. One of the differences between Viajes Falabella and Despegar is the issue of financing and interest-free installments, alliances with banks. We are going to look for the niche of each brand to adequately reach our customers. And later we are going to launch an AI-powered trip planner for tailor-made trips and recommendations.
We are the leading travel company in Latin America and we want to promote the tourism sector in a sustainable way. We have more than a million accommodation options, more than 238 airlines and we seek to offer the best possible prices.
Viajes Falabella opens a store in Real Plaza Salaverry.
– To be clearer, is the presence of both offline going to serve to achieve that personalization and develop these new products? How will you differentiate your audience?
I think it will depend on us, today more than 90% of the sales of Viajes Falabella are packages. And that ‘share’ is less in Despegar. We have had a virtual advisor there for some time, which has made our ‘share’ of packages grow and we now aim to grow even more with face-to-face stores.
Happy tourist sightseeing city with map
/ Anna Bison
– Already with physical agencies, will there be a growth in this sale of packages with consultancies that are a little more tailored as well?
That is what we aim for, also leveraging ourselves in the financing of installments without interest, etc.
Viajes Falabella omnichannel and local strategy
– On the side of the Viajes Falabella stores, have you already opened this store in Real Plaza Salaverry? Where will the modules be located?
We have opened a month ago, in the first days of August. The Jockey Plaza store will soon arrive this quarter and for the last quarter of the year we hope to open two more modules (islands). And we are already putting together the growth strategy for 2024.
– Will they also reach the provinces with modules or premises of Viajes Falabella?
Yes, we are going to be in the provinces with one more store.
– In the midst of developing their entire omnichannel strategy, they go a little against the current of what some airlines and agencies do that no longer have agencies or that are online.
We go against the current. We have more than 22 years of presence in the market as a Despegar group and we know the Latin American traveler better than anyone and we know that we have many types of travelers for each market, such as in Peru. permanent advice.
– What other products could you develop with this strategy? You mentioned cruises, for example. Do you also travel in a group?
We still don’t have group trips because it’s something very particular and we don’t want to launch something until we’re sure that we’re going to be excellent. For the topic of cruises and the topic of travel we have an area called ‘on demand’ or whatever you want. We fully customize the circuit. We have a lot of companies in parallel that can provide us with more things that are not necessarily available on the web, to meet the specific needs of the passenger.
– That is to say that on the circuits that you put together, users can request and make some modification to make them more personalized.
In fact, you can request the circuit however you want and we tailor it, that’s why it’s called ‘on demand’, which is a tailor-made trip, we have a large area working on it. We look for the flights, cruises, that best fit what the user is looking for and the circuit schedules. We take care of everything, from the moment you have the trip in mind, throughout your experience and when you return from the trip.
Inés Hochdtadter, commercial director of the Despegar group for Peru and Ecuador.
/ JESUS SAUCEDO
– What is the profile and type of travel that Peruvians seek?
Most travelers prefer to travel as a family or as a couple. In national destinations, the top are Arequipa and the northern beaches. Among international destinations we have the Caribbean (Cancun Punta Cana, Aruba) at the top, Cartagena is very fashionable and Buenos Aires is a destination that has grown a lot. In the United States, Miami, Orlando and New York are the favorites. Now, I think that the profile of the traveler also changed a bit in the pandemic, today many travelers can make a slightly longer trip and work a couple of days from the destination.
– Does that also have to do with the increase or recovery of frequencies or the creation of new routes by the airlines?
Exactly, now there will be direct flights to London, for example. We are intermediaries and we have the inventory of all available airlines. Finally, we take advantage of what they get, so the more frequencies the different airlines get, we take advantage of them and add activities, with financing facilities. That is our differential as an agency.
“In the case of Peru, we are almost at 80% recovery as a total industry. I would expect that towards the end of the year or the beginning of next year we would return to 2019 levels.”
– How much have flights to London and Aruba increased?
Aruba yes, London not yet. In the case of Aruba, it appears in the top 10 or 15. Before it did not appear.
– What are the results and synergies that Despegar has achieved since it bought Viajes Falabella in 2019?
The main synergies are in the subject of product, inventory and taking advantage to get the best of both brands for the benefit of the customer. Now we have more than a million accommodation options, more than 238 airlines, more than 12,000 activities and we seek constant innovation. To that we add our expertise and with the assisted sale a good final product comes out.
– How much has this union strengthened its presence in the Peruvian market and what is the ‘market share’ that it now has in the country?
We are very well positioned, I cannot provide that number, but we are among the top three to five travel agencies in Peru.
Recovery of tourism and projections
– Regarding the tourism sector, as a result of the pandemic there was a drop in travel, which has been gradually recovering in the last two years. How do you see this path to recovery in the case of Peru? Other markets where the Despegar group is also present?
We are a little slow compared to some other markets in the recovery, but I think that has been dragging on since the decisions that were made during the pandemic. For example, Colombia bounced back last year as it had fewer restrictions than us in the pandemic. In the case of Peru, we are almost at 80% recovery as a total industry. I would hope that towards the end of the year or the beginning of next year we would return to the levels of 2019.
Aruba, one of the new destinations where the demand by Peruvian travelers has increased.
– What destinations were not reactivated?
More than destinations, there are some airlines that used to have direct flights to various destinations and today do so with a stopover, that also plays against you. We have one or two airlines that are no longer in the market and that also delayed the recovery a bit. But little by little that is recovering. We are entering London directly, Sky has also launched a lot of new routes, that is boosting the sector. I think that we are already with the accelerator on and it is a matter of time to pass the 2019 levels again…
– Will the projections for the end of this year be in line with the results that have been seen so far, that is, double digits in your regional operation?
I think so, in the case of Peru alone we aim for that.
– The start of the Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup is coming with some matches of the national team that are almost always activated on these dates. Is there already an increase in demand for the first matches or will it be activated as the selection progresses?
I think that little by little this football madness is rising again. I hope that soon this madness will begin to be seen. When we got to the World Cup, we took promotions to Madrid and Russia because it was difficult to get to Russia directly and it was ranked at the top. So I think that this trend should be repeated.
1694141725
#Despegar #plans #open #physical #travel #agencies #Peru #objectives #expansion #projections #Falabella #Travel #travel #agencies #tourism #Flights #Tickets #Reservations #ECONOMY