Skift Take
Despite rising coronavirus cases and airlines on the brink of collapse, Milla Travel could still make its mark in a region that's long overdue for modernization in the travel management space.
Online travel newcomer Milla Travel wants to shake up Latin America's travel management landscape — and it sees no better time to do it than during a pandemic.
Founder Antonia San Martin said she's identified a gap in the market because corporate travel there hasn't evolved in line with the rest of the world. Most bookings are made using offline travel agencies, and the market is highly fragmented, apart from some of the larger corporate travel agencies having a presence there.
Meanwhile, the pandemic has forced companies and travelers to adapt more to digital in Latin America.
San Martin, who's based in Chile, said the countries are "about 100 years behind what’s going on in Europe and the U.S."
"I investigated a bit, and most of the companies here hate the solutions their companies are giving them,” she added. She speaks from experience, having traveled for business a lot during previous roles at Nike and Heineken.
The region might be ripe for disruption, but by officially launching in April this year after starting out as a WhatsApp channel, Milla Travel is arguably starting out at the worst possible moment. Coronavirus cases are rising sharply in Latin America. Brazil has had more than 1.7 million confirmed cases, the second highest global tally after the U.S., with Chile, Mexico and Peru battling major outbreaks.
"There was already a recession on
