Despegar expects strong growth as regional tourism recovers

Despegar CFO Amit Singh. Photo: Courtesy of Despegar

Latin American travel booking company Despegar is revving up for a year of expansion, eyeing potential acquisitions throughout the region as the tourism industry is poised to rebound in 2024, inching closer to pre-pandemic levels and potentially leaving the sector’s biggest crisis behind.

“The pandemic is now largely in the rearview mirror for us,” Despegar chief financial officer Amit Singh tells The Brazilian Report in an exclusive interview. The company raised its revenue guidance in December, indicating momentum in the industry as travel trends resume after being halted in the past few years.

The United Nations Tourism Recovery Tracker reveals South America is on the cusp of a full recovery. In 2023, internal tourist arrivals were merely 6 percent below pre-pandemic levels, and...

David Feliba

David Feliba has more than ten years of experience reporting on Latin America, focusing on business and economics in the region. He has written for international outlets such as The Washington Post, Reuters, The Economist, The New York Times, and The Financial Times. He has also covered the Latin American banking and fintech beat for S&P Global Market Intelligence.