Survey reveals profile of Travel Techs companies in Brazil

According to FecomercioSP, the travel market generated R$ 189.5 billion in revenue in 2023 in Brazil, an increase of 7.8% compared to 2022. According to a survey also by FecomercioSP, in partnership with the Latin American Association for Corporate Travel and Event Management (Alagev), corporate travel alone generated approximately R$ 7.3 billion in January 2024 – an increase of 5.5% compared to 2023. The data indicates that the tourism sector is preparing to return to pre-pandemic levels.

In this context, the Travel techs, as startups offering technological solutions for the travel and tourism industry are called, are responsible for helping to leverage the sector and digitally transform the travel experience, whether for leisure or work. With the aim of understanding the profile of these companies, Onfly has just completed the second edition of the Map of Brazilian Travel Techs.  

According to the survey currently Brazil has 205 travel techs in activity, classified in a total of eleven categories. They are: Technology for other players (24.4%), Mobility (17.6%), Experiences (13.2%), Online booking and reservation (12.2%), Events (8.8%), Corporate Travel Management (6.8%), Corporate expenses (5.4%), Services for travelers (4.4%), Lodging (3.4%), Loyalty programs (2.4%), and Corporate benefits (1.5%).

Regarding the size and maturity level of travel techs, over 70% of the sector consists of companies with up to 50 employees – of these, 36.1% have up to 10 employees, many of them with operations led by the founders. Companies with 100 or more employees represent only 14.2% of the businesses currently in operation.

“We have an active, digitalized sector ready to scale. Among the country's companies, those offering technology solutions for the travel segment are still few and, for the most part, young and run by lean teams. Given the size of the Brazilian tourism market and its expansion potential, it would not be an exaggeration to say that we are facing a major market opportunity,” highlights Marcelo Linhares, CEO and co-founder of Onfly, the largest B2B travel tech in Latin America that offers complete management of corporate travel and expenses. 

Regional cut

Also according to the Map of Brazilian Travel Techs, the Southeast is the region that concentrates the most companies and startups in the sector, 72.2%, with the state of São Paulo accounting for more than half (109) of them. In second place is the state of Minas Gerais, with 24 travel techs. The South region follows, concentrating 16.6% of tourism startups, with emphasis on Santa Catarina (17), the third state with the most travel techs in the country.

“It is essential that we adopt innovative technologies in our operations, demonstrating to investors a commitment to modernizing this market,” adds Linhares. 

Travel techs

According to Crunchbase, the world's leading innovation data platform, 2021 was the year that concentrated the majority of investments in travel techs in Latin America. In that year alone, tourism startups raised US$ 154.7 million. Between 2019 and 2023, this figure reached a total of US$ 290 million. In Brazil, between 2019 and 2023, the sector received US$ 185 million and about 75% of the investments occurred in 2021 alone.