Tourism market shrinks 20% this year, says founder of Takeoff

Roberto Souviron, founder and CEO of Decolar.com, largest online tour operator of Latin America, estimates that the segment in Brazil will shrink 20 percent this year, but that his company will continue gaining market slices.
The businessman said that marketing and improvements in tools, such as applications to choose more affordable packages, must do its share grow in the Brazilian market in 2016. "We are with sales fall, but our share in the Brazilian market increases 25%, is what we care about," he said.
Second Souviron, the Takeoff made about $ 4 billion in 2015, of which 40% in Brazil, its largest market. The company is one of the five largest in the world in its segment.
He calculates that the Takeoff has a share of 15% of the Brazilian market. Asked about possibility of acquisition of companies in the country, responds that always has his eye on the market, but the interest is even growing organically. "In fact, there''s not much to buy that company can add value for us," he said.
Last year, 20% of the company sold Souviron to Expedia, the largest global tourism holding company online, for $ 270 million. He finds it difficult to the American company wanting to increase their participation, because you''d have to then acquire the whole company, and your view would be a transaction too large for Latin America.
"I hope they one day want to do that (buy all take off), but I think the most natural will be us doing an IPO (initial public offering of shares)," he pondered.
Souviron doesn''t hide that his ambition now is to list the company on the Nasdaq in New York. After two years of work, hopes to complete by December all the requirements required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US, to have the operation. But he recognizes that the timing of this IPO will depend essentially on the State of the brazilian economy, which is fundamental to your business. "We''re putting everything right in the company, but the Brazilian market is pretty slow and we''re going to have to wait for an improvement to decide the IPO".
In negotiating with Expedia, Decolar.com''s market value was estimated at $ 1.4 billion in 2015, but now thinks Souviron are worth much more. He started his business in 1999 with two partners, with the creation of Despegar.com in Argentina.