Telefónica and Despegar.com, the leading travel agency in Latin America, announced a regional collaboration agreement today offering exclusive discounts to Movistar users on all purchases made using Despegar’s mobile app.
As part of the agreement, the Despegar application will come preinstalled on different Android devices sold by Movistar. Movistar clients who already have a phone will be able to download the free app, which is available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone.
This service is available to Movistar users across Latin America. To benefit from the discounts, users make the purchase and introduce a code in the checkout process. The discount is applied automatically to certain services offered by Despegar through its app, such as flights and hotel reservations, and is always subject to specific promotions. Both companies will offer additional exclusive promotions in the next coming months.
“More and more people are using their phones to make travel arrangements and bookings which has seen a substantial rise in mobile applications that make this process easier. Mobility is clearly transforming the tourism industry and at Telefónica we would like to provide our users with a unique experience - not only by giving them mobile access to a leading service such as Despegar, but also by offering them discounts to make their travels that little bit better”, pointed out Steve Alder, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships at Telefónica.
“We estimate that around half of the travel reservations will be made through a mobile device by 2020. Telefónica is a strategic partner to anticipate and accelerate the adoption of new technologies and changes in the consumer behaviour, facilitating the buying proccess”, says Guillermo Fretes, Vicepresident of Mobile Businesses at Despegar.com.
Movistar already provides this service in some Latin American countries and it will be launched in other markets shortly. As part of the agreement, in addition to the exclusive discount offered to all its clients, each country will be able to adapt the service to its local needs, offering additional advantages.
Since it was launched almost two years ago, Despegar’s mobile app has been downloaded by 12 million users in the region. Around 18% of the company’s revenues come through the app. With this agreement, Despegar.com hopes to substantially increase the number of users by December 2015 and shorten the existing gap between Latin America and other countries where travel reservations made through a mobile device represent 50% of total revenues.