Kuoni Group appoints new Commercial Director for Latin America

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

Denmark showed the greatest growth with a five-fold increase in the number of room nights booked last year with this hotel group.

Denmark showed the greatest growth with a five-fold increase in the number of room nights booked last year with this hotel group.

Kuoni Group Travel Experts has appointed Rodrigo Ferreira as Commercial Director for Latin America, as its group travel business out of the region grows by an average 36% a year (CAGR) thanks to record economic expansion and job creation in the region. Based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Rodrigo takes charge of building and maintaining relationships with travel businesses interested in arranging group tours around the world.

The companyโ€™s success comes as a World Bank study1 estimates that more than 50 million people have worked their way up the social and income ladder in Latin America in the past decade to become members of the middle class โ€“ an increase of over 50%. Almost one third of Latin American families are now considered to be middle class.

Rodrigo Ferreira, Commercial Director for Latin America, adds: โ€œIโ€™m excited to join Kuoni Group Travel Experts and share my knowledge of a rich variety of destinations to help businesses profit by booking group travel out of Latin America. As more and more people from Latin America enjoy rising disposable incomes, international travel is within their reach. Many of these first-time travelers find group tours the most reassuring option and operators will turn to us to provide itineraries for mustโ€“see destinations and more niche experiences.โ€

Rodrigo has personal experience of a wide range of destinations and their attractions having explored the appeals of six of the worldโ€™s seven continents, from Australia to Vietnam. Previous roles with tour operator CVC Brasil Operadora saw him manage revenues of $100 million and support sales teams in 900 branches throughout Brazil and develop product throughout Asia while at Queensberry. At both companies and with New Line, he helped market international itineraries for group travel to the travel trade.

Tommy Ryder, Head of Sales for Kuoni Group Travel Experts Americas. He says: โ€œIโ€™m very pleased to welcome Rodrigo to further grow our commercial success in Latin America. Given the importance of the USA in their top three destinations, he will be invaluable in reminding the regionโ€™s travel trade that they only need to work with us to produce itineraries in any part of the nation. His wide-ranging experience of destinations elsewhere in the world will also help us take advantage of an increasing desire to travel long haul.โ€

The USA is the third most popular destination for Latin American travelers, but European countries represent eight of their top ten. Several of the top ten destinations saw double and triple digit growth in 2014: Switzerland, Australia, the Netherlands, Italy and the United Kingdom among them. Denmark showed the greatest growth with a five-fold increase in the number of room nights booked last year.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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