Opodo back on acquisition trail
Opodo has bought a leading online French travel company for 60 million euros.
Amadeus-owned Opodo paid the 60 million in cash for Karavel, the owner of Promovacances, an online package holiday retailer that is widely known in France. Karvel is chaired by Christian Blanc, the former chief executive of Air France.
The announcement comes just two weeks after Opodo paid £1.2 million for the longhaul tour operator, Quest Travel, which carries 30,000 customers a year mainly to Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and Asia. And in September 2004 Opodo made a move into Italy with the takeover of Italian travel portal, Eviaggi, which at the time of purchase had a market share of over 15% of air bookings made on travel websites in Italy.
Commenting on the acquisition, Opodo chief executive Simon Vincent said: “As a leader in the European online travel market, Opodo is particularly strong in flight sales. Today’s acquisition of Karavel, with its excellent pre-packaged content, will complement Opodo’s existing portfolio of products and strengthen our presence in the key French market.” The companies have worked together, sharing content, since 2003.
Opodo’s country manager for France, Petra Friedmann, said Opodo was already selling well in the country, with sales of pre-packaged holidays up 150% over the last 6 months in France.
Report by Ginny McGrath
Ginny McGrath
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025