Despegar revolutionizes the tourism industry introducing the region’s first Generative AI Travel Assistant

Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE: DESP) (“Despegar” or the “Company”), Latin America’s leading travel technology company, today announced the launch of SOFIA , the region’s first Generative AI Travel Assistant, marking a significant enhancement to the Company’s customer value proposition. This pioneering innovation allows users to enjoy rapid, as well as more personalized and convenient travel planning through state-of-the-art technology.

Powered by generative artificial intelligence, Despegar's SOFIA is multimodal and fully supports travelers from the initial conception of their travel idea, through the planning and coordination stages, until their return. Interacting with SOFIA is simple, intuitive, and flexible, accommodating oral, written, or image-based communication according to a traveler’s preferences, and is available at any time and day.

Behind this advancement is Despegar's technology prowess, strong culture of innovation, and deep knowledge of the travel market. SOFIA assists customers at every step of travel planning, from searches to bookings to payments, to create the best possible travel experience.

Gonzalo Estebarena, Chief Technology Officer of Despegar, said: "Our AI Travel Agent is expected to revolutionize travel. SOFIA uniquely supports Despegar’s customers throughout the entire travel planning process, from inspiring destination ideas to visualizing various travel options, and it does this through their preferred mode of communication. Unlike traditional e-commerce platforms that require pre-determined interactions with a customer, SOFIA can dynamically and nearly instantaneously create travel options based on the customer's requests. We are proud to lead with a technology that elevates the user experience to an entirely new level, representing a paradigm shift in the travel industry."

Interacting with SOFIA is remarkably simple and straightforward. For example, a user expressing a desire to go surfing prompts SOFIA to suggest potential destinations, allowing the user to engage through chat, voice, a displayed catalog of travel options, or any combination thereof. Going beyond traditional chatbot functionality, SOFIA provides a genuinely and naturally interactive digital assisted travel planning experience. SOFIA's dynamic conversation style, adaptive responses, and empathetic nature, coupled with Despegar's extensive knowledge of over 30 million customers and their preferences, clearly distinguish the digital assistant from conventional online platforms and could facilitate the secular transition from offline to online travel booking. In addition, SOFIA offers a self-assisted purchasing experience and facilitates contact with Despegar representatives for sales or after-sales inquiries when desired. The tool is now available across Latin America and the Company plans to incorporate additional features and functionality over time.