This interview is an extract from our eBook 'Travel Trends Report 2019' written by Franziska Wernet. You can get your free copy here.
Founded 2009, Civitatis is the leading online marketplace for the Spanish-speaking market. With over 2 million annual travellers, Civitatis offers 10.000 services in 510 destinations. Their top markets include Spain (51%), Argentina (9,65%), Mexico (5,81%) and the US (5.35%).
In just 10 years, Civitatis has achieved great success. What makes your marketplace unique?
Civitatis base its success on 4 pillars.
Firstly, in each destination, we make sure to curate a selection of fundamental services to offer our customers so that they know what they can do at a specific destination.
Secondly, we strongly believe in one product, one provider. Unlike other resellers who operate more like a “marketplace” where everyone can get online to offer their services and compete with one another, at Civitatis, we do the work for our customers. We make sure to work with the best operators in the destination for that specific offer.
Thirdly, we offer our services in Spanish, which has been our main selling point from the start. Today 90% of our tours are offered with Spanish speaking guides.
Lastly, we want to deliver maximum simplicity and maximum usability. To make our customers’ lives simpler, we try to do as much of the selection process for them,
including selecting the operators to book with.
What do you think is the main trend for Spanish travellers?
The trend for our sector includes the booking process of the service prior to travel, which is different that it has been so far.
Today, we don´t worry so much about the flight or the hotel but we want to be sure that we have every activity with the guarantee that it is the best option available. In the end, the most important part of the travel is what will you be doing, and platforms like Civitatis.com allow our customers to read millions of reviews and book at ease and transparency and only worry about enjoying the trip.
"In the end, the most important part of the travel is what will you be doing"
What can we expect from Civitatis in the next few years?
The online contracting of services in-destination is still growing. On the supply side, there are many types of in-destination services and they’re all eligible to work with our platform,
so we still have many products we could offer that will allow us to continue growing.
On the consumer side, we still have many travellers to convince to book their tours and activities in advance, rather than waiting till they’re in-destination to book.
Furthermore, we’re beginning to expand into new language markets, replicating our model in English, French, Portuguese and Italian. Though we’re still in early stages, we’re already seeing positive results and expect this to continue.
Read more interviews and industry trends in our Travel Trends Report 2019.
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