He dropped out of architecture and was coordinating trips at 17: the story behind Vivencias Travel

Plenty of businesses are born out of necessity. Others are born out of a personal obsession. Vivencias Travel belongs to the second group: behind the reinforcement of its Santiago operation —where it has been present since 2018 and which it is now consolidating with Latin America in view— there is a story that began with someone who left university to devote himself to travel.

From architecture to coordinating trips at 17

Marcelo Rollandi was studying architecture when his love of travel won out. He left the degree and by the age of 17 he was already coordinating trips. Over time that calling shifted towards something different from what a guide or a salesperson does: building teams.

A company created just before the pandemic

The firm was born on a premise that sounds obvious today but was not then: that travellers did not want one more packaged holiday, they wanted something they would remember.

"We created Vivencias Travel before the pandemic, thinking that travellers wanted to generate unique, different and novel travel experiences. That is where the company comes from, with the stamp of creating very novel and disruptive destinations. Where every travel adviser puts their heart into each trip." — Marcelo Rollandi, founder of Vivencias Travel

The calendar did not help: the company was founded shortly before world tourism came to a halt. He says they got through the pandemic without being left with financing problems.

Coaching, teams and "we are like a family"

The least glamorous part of the story is also the part that explains the growth. Before the pandemic, Rollandi studied coaching and started building the company in layers, year by year.

"Before the pandemic I studied coaching. That is where I built a project year by year. I managed to create a unique team, with a lot of progress and the drive to keep growing. I look after people a great deal and I care that they grow inside my companies. We are like a family." — Marcelo Rollandi

The challenge nobody anticipates: four mindsets at the same table

Operating across several countries is not only a logistical matter. The first real difficulty, he says, was getting people of different nationalities to understand each other.

"At the start it was very hard for me, as an Argentine, to understand a Chilean. Chileans find it very hard to understand us as Argentines, and then you put a Brazilian, a Mexican or a Peruvian in the middle. In other words, living together becomes difficult." — Marcelo Rollandi

Airport stands: the before and after

There was one concrete decision that marked a turning point in the company's growth: setting up agency stands in airports, among them Bariloche and Ezeiza. Instead of waiting for the passenger, going out to find them where they actually were.

The numbers behind the bet on Santiago

The coverage of this stage put figures to what until then was a story. During 2024 the company moved more than 100,000 travellers, around 30% of them in Chile. The new Santiago office meant an investment of over US$50,000 and was set up with a concrete target for the season: to pass 10,000 Brazilian travellers.

The context puts the bet in perspective: in 2024 more than 787,000 Brazilians visited Chile.

"To increase the number of Brazilian tourists who want to visit the capital and to project an expansion across the entire South American market." — Marcelo Rollandi

And the effect, he stresses, does not stop at the agency:

"It will generate movement for the whole city: the ski resorts, the shops, the hotels and transport." — Marcelo Rollandi

The right person in every place

Asked about the formula, Rollandi does not mention technology or prices. He mentions people, and a fairly simple rule: whoever serves a market has to be from that market.

"Success comes down to having the right person in each place. The person who quotes a product in Chile is Chilean and knows every destination in Chile. The person who deals with Brazilians knows how to speak to them. In short, they are travel advisers for the destination. They do not sell a tour — they tell a Brazilian what they need to know about any destination." — Marcelo Rollandi

That, in his view, is the difference with other agencies: a multicultural way of working across Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, with specialists in each area. Whoever sells study trips is a study-trip specialist. Whoever receives Brazilians in Santiago or Bariloche knows how to tell them where to go, what to do and what to eat.

"We have the best team, the best prepared, and what we invest in most is training and information." — Marcelo Rollandi

Vivencias Travel is a tour operator founded in Bariloche with a presence in Chile, Brazil and Mexico, specialising in group and individual travel experiences. Its main focus is study trips, experiential travel, adventure activities, excursions and tailor-made programmes. It offers 24/7 support and professional guides with deep knowledge of Patagonia and international destinations.