We acquire & grow companies who empower local tour operators

We believe that the future of travel planning and booking is inbound - with local tour operators who sell directly from their destination.

Investment Thesis

Travel in the new era

Digital Transformation is accelerating.

Sustainability is a must.

The benefits of coming together.

Travel habits are changing.

Inbound travel is the future.

Investment Thesis

Digital Transformation is accelerating

Driven by short format videos platforms like TikTok and Reels for Inspiration.

Travellers are bypassing traditional channels like travel agents and tour operators to Book Direct.

Data and IA powered Travel Planning empowers a new generation of travellers.

Decisions are made based on pricing comparison tools,  meta-search engines and validated reviews.

API’s provide universal access to supplier dynamic pricing and inventory for Bookings.

Investment Thesis

Travel habits are changing

Travellers are combining leisure  with business. This allows for longer stays, reduced seasonality and alternative accommodation options.

Travellers are increasingly ethical and intentional in their choices, driven by environmental and social concerns and suppliers' initiatives.

Travellers are open to exploring lesser known, less busy destinations. This opens opportunities for a more local and diversified tourist offering.

Increased segmentation and tailored engagement with travellers creates valuable market opportunities in endless niches. (Ultra Luxury,  Experiential, Ethical, Sports, Food, Religious, Seniors, etc…)

Investment Thesis

Sustainability is a must

8%
of global carbon emissions caused by the global travel industry
70%
of leisure travelers are concerned about sustainability. Still only 10% acting
48%
of travel companies are making sustainability an investment priority

With global tourism set to double in size by 2050 from 2019 levels, doing nothing is no longer an option. Companies should start to measure their negative and positive impact and transform their business accordingly.

Changing consumer behavior and regulatory frameworks will require companies to adapt if they want to be or stay successful.

Investment Thesis

Inbound travel is the future

The leisure travel industry is traditionally dominated by travel agencies and tour operators. They relate to the travelers in their home countries and source their products in destinations worldwide where, with so many destinations on offer, they can only scratch the surface of what each destination has to offer.

These ‘outbound’ operators generally miss the local knowledge and depth of a destination, and their support on the ground is thin. This often leads to superficial, impersonal and inflexible travel offerings. This conflicts with the needs and wants of today’s traveler, who prefer more personal, authentic and ‘off the beaten track’ experiences.  

Local tour operators who reach travelers direct, are best positioned to serve the needs of today’s travelers. They have deep roots in the destinations and can open doors to roads less travelled, to local interaction and truly personal experiences. They live in their destination, in fact, they ARE their destination.

Investment Thesis

The benefits of coming together

Stand-alone Local Tour Operator
operates in a single destination. Need to constantly acquire new travelers.  
operates in a small number of source markets. Experience greater seasonality and have limited growth potential.
needs to shoulder the cost of constant investment in state-of-the-art systems to compete with ever larger and sophisticated competitors
- have difficulty in securing growth capital
- have higher payments cost
- have individual bonding schemes
have increasing regulatory compliance challenges (ie PTD, GDPR,PSD2, carbon offset)
will experience the seasonality patterns of their destination, together with socio-political, economic risk and risk from natural disasters.
Group of Local Tour Operators
refer customers to each other. Benefit from additional revenues and lower acquisition costs.
jointly consolidate in and expand into, multiple source markets. Benefit from less seasonality in business.
share best-in-class systems and best practices amongst their group and leverage their combined buying power
- have greater access to sources of capital, negotiate better terms
- have lower payment costs
- have a single bonding scheme
share the burden of increasing regulatory compliance challenges (ie PTD, GDPR,PSD2, carbon offset)
can offset seasonality patterns in their destination and socio-political, economic risk and risk from natural disasters.
Portfolio

Portfolio

We are proud to present our first acquisition: Doblemente S.L

20
years of experience in travel tech development
+1B€
in sales generated through the Doblemente platform
+11M
travelers made successful bookings through Doblemente
Team

Pioneers in digital transformation and sustainability

Eddie Lubbers

Founder & Managing Partner

• Early employee with Booking.com, Hotels.com, Lastminute.com, hired by and reporting directly to these companies’ founders

• Founder and former CEO of Caribbean Travel Network, a pioneering company for online travel services in the Caribbean

• Achieved €100M+ in accumulated sales and €10M+ in accumulated ebitda, directly creating 150 jobs for highly motivated co-workers

• M&A experience: one company acquired and multiple asset-based transactions in the travel and travel media sectors

Angel investor in several travel startups in EU and US

• Completed an Executive Education program in Mergers & Acquisitions at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

• Passionate about tourism, e-commerce, digital transformation, sustainability, management, and business strategy

• Fluent in five languages (Dutch, English, Spanish, German, French)

Team

Industry experts to ensure success

Fabian Gonzalez

Advisor

Founder Forward Travel
Spain market analyst for Phocuswright (Spain)

Adam Wallace

Advisor

Founder Spherical
Digital Marketing
Agency (USA)

Why us

Why Destino

Valuation

Will I receive a good and fair price for my business?

Legacy

Will the buyer seek to build on my legacy and take care of my employees?

Trust

Do the buyers have a track record of doing as they say after the LOI is signed, and after the transaction is complete?

Confidence to Close

Does the buyer understand our business, or will we have to go through an extended period of time educating them on our business?

Capacity to Close

Does the buyer have the financial capacity to close the investment? Do they have previous experience in buying or running a company, like mine?

Investment Thesis

Travel in the new era.

Digital Transformation is accelerating

Sustainability is a must.

Sustainability is a must.

Spain is (still) the future.

Why Us

Our investment process

2-4 weeks

Exploration

• Explore the opportunity and see if it is a good fit for both parties

• We provide the 1st information request list and preliminary fair market value range

• We submit an expression of interest to you

• You decide if we move forward

12-16 weeks

Diligence & Close

• We complete our due diligence

• We finalize purchase documents

• We sign documents and you receive the proceeds from the sale

2-4 weeks

Letter of Intent

• We provide the 2nd information request list

• We submit to you a letter of intent with key agreed upon deal terms clearly outlined

• You decide if we move forward

Contact

Reach out

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The Netherlands.
Chamber of Commerce 67422993
Contact
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