Tell us your story. How did Expresso Viagens get started?
Expresso Viagens was founded in 1966 and since then has been developing solutions and providing consultancy in the travel market. Expresso was started back in the day when there was a strong demand for travellers looking to buy air tickets to travel abroad to Europe in the 60s, before Angola gained its independence.

What makes Expresso Viagens different from your competitors?
We offer the best experience we can to all our customers and part of that is being available to help as much as we can; should they need it, 24/7 support is available for them.

What can we expect to see from Expresso Viagens in the future?
We will continue to explore the region in search of more offers for our customers in the regional markets near Angola, as tourism in Africa becomes more accessible and widespread creating a bigger demand to discover this lovely continent.

Which trends do you see in educational and active youth travel?
We expect to see youth travellers look to experience other cultures, build life experience and/or benefit from learning opportunities that have not been available to them heretofore. Africa is extremely well position for this as it builds itself to accommodate more tourism and demand for its popular destinations grows (as highlighted on Q4). Smartphones now play a big on this, as both Millennials and Gen-Zers turn to social media for trips inspiration and reviews by their peers, and they place a high level of trust in travel recommendations made by micro-influencers.

How do you work to ensure the health and safety of young travellers involved with Expresso Viagens?
Anything can happen while travelling that’s why we offer 24/7 support should they need it. We try to highlight any dangers to the young travellers if they are travelling to an area that requires extra precautions around the region. We’re also connected with help assistance institutions that can aid travellers if they required.

What was your motivation to join WYSE Travel Confederation?
We noticed that Angola had no organization present on the confederation and therefore was lacking help on the field for anyone interested in travelling to it. Our main motivation is to help youth travellers, students and educational travellers with anything they need should they want to discover Angola by providing all the support we can for accommodation, volunteering, educational exchange, study abroad, work and travel.

What is an industry challenge your organisation is facing currently?
Our biggest struggle is how to adapt in an ever-changing world that is rapidly changing due to smartphones and the internet, while remaining relevant and being capable to provide solutions that our customers want and need. Consumers and society have changed their habits on the way they travel, plan or communicate while abroad, plus nowadays is extremely easy to get peer reviews or to seek validation while travelling. How can we as travel agents provide experiences that cater these wants and needs by consumers and keep updating them at a sustainable pace.