ES Viagens, Grupo Espírito Santo

: when growth goes on vacation

Abstract

After only five years of operations in Portugal, in 2006 ES Viagens was already the market leader, controlling several important tourism operators and travel agencies that generated a revenue of over 440 million Euros. It was therefore nothing less than surprising to see revenues and profits declining in the following years. In the case study the Portuguese market and ES Viagens' competitive landscape are described, in an attempt to find reasons that would explain such low performance. Besides the case study, this dissertation contains a Literature Review section in which several frameworks and theories that may help identify ES Viagens' external and internal issues are explored. Such theoretical background is then applied in the Teaching Note, a possible approach to analyze the case in class is suggested. From the analysis of the case study it is possible to identify environmental trends and structural industry conditions affecting ES Viagens, as well as positioning and operational problems in the company. After this diagnosis recommendations are made in order to assure its growth in the leisure segment, both nationally and internationally, while maintaining its leadership position in the corporate segment.

Date of Award	23 Feb 2012
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Nuno Magalhães Guedes (Supervisor)