Columbus

What Columbus does

Kolumbs is a Riga-based, privately held full-service travel agency founded in 1998 that serves Latvian leisure travelers with packaged vacations, flight bookings, and personalized travel planning. Its core product set consists of curated tour packages to three flagship destinations — Turkey, Malta, and Egypt — supplemented by exotic-travel and summer-vacation product lines and a referral relationship with letasaviobiletes.lv for flight-only bookings. The company is IATA-accredited, enabling it to issue tickets and access global airline inventory, with Lufthansa displayed as a core airline partner.

The business operates a hybrid direct-to-consumer go-to-market model combining an e-commerce storefront at kolumbs.lv with a physical office in Riga where cash payments and in-person consultations are available. Online bookings are processed through established payment infrastructure partnerships with Swedbank and SEB (bank transfers) and Visa, Mastercard, and Maestro (card payments). Marketing is primarily conducted through the company website, which features destination pages, a news/blog section, and a contact-form inquiry flow that converts into bottom-of-funnel consultations.

Kolumbs generates revenue on a transaction-fee basis, earning commissions on booked travel services rather than disclosing fixed pricing. Membership in the Latvian Travel and Tourism Association (Alta) and a co-marketing relationship with fellow Latvian operator Averoja round out its ecosystem footprint. The firm employs 51-100 people and shows no disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, or AI/technology capabilities beyond standard e-commerce booking functionality.

Name

Columbus

Legal name

Kolumbs

Website

https://kolumbs.lv

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Kolumbs is a Riga-based full-service travel agency founded in 1998 that sells packaged leisure vacations and airline tickets to Latvian consumers through its website and physical office, earning commission-based revenue across destinations including Turkey, Malta, and Egypt.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Riga

HQ country

Latvia

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Travel Package Sales: Kolumbs acts as a travel agency selling vacation packages including flights, hotels, and travel services to destinations including Turkey, Malta, and Egypt. Revenue generated through commissions on booked travel services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Kolumbs is a full-service travel agency based in Riga, Latvia that sells packaged vacation trips and travel services to destinations including Turkey, Malta, and Egypt. The agency handles both incoming and outgoing tourism for groups and individuals, offering curated leisure travel packages, summer and exotic travel experiences, and flight ticket booking through an integrated online and in-person booking model.

Product overview

KOLUMBS is a travel agency offering leisure travel packages and booking services. The company's offerings include packaged travel trips to Turkey, Malta, and Egypt, along with flight ticket booking services and exotic/summer vacation packages. The product portfolio consists of core travel package offerings with complementary flight ticket integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Travel to Turkey (Ceļojumi uz Turciju) Packaged travel trips and vacation packages to Turkey, including accommodation and travel arrangements, for Latvian leisure travelers.
• Travel to Malta (Ceļojumi uz Maltu) Packaged travel trips and vacation packages to Malta, including accommodation and travel arrangements, for Latvian leisure travelers.
• Travel to Egypt (Ceļojumi uz Ēģipti) Packaged travel trips and vacation packages to Egypt, including accommodation and travel arrangements, for Latvian leisure travelers.
• Flight Tickets (Aviobiļetes) Flight ticket booking service provided through an external partner portal at letasaviobiletes.lv, leveraging IATA accreditation for global airline inventory access.
• Exotic Travels (Eksotiskie ceļojumi) Exotic travel packages offering unique vacation experiences in faraway international destinations for Latvian travelers seeking distinctive holiday experiences.
• Summer Travels (Vasaras ceļojumi) Summer vacation travel packages and seasonal travel offerings for Latvian travelers during the summer holiday period.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered moderate, minor and core.

• Alta (Latvian Travel Association)moderateOthersDisplayed as a partner logo on the Kolumbs website, indicating membership or affiliation with the Latvian Travel and Tourism Association (Alta).
• AverojaminorOthersDisplayed as a partner logo on the Kolumbs website. Averoja is a Latvian tourism/travel company.
• Letasaviobiletes.lvminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLinked from the Kolumbs website as an external flight ticket booking service (Letasaviobiletes.lv), suggesting a referral or cross-promotion partnership for flight-only bookings.
• IATA (International Air Transport Association)coreTechnology or IntegrationDisplayed as a partner logo indicating Kolumbs operates with IATA accreditation, allowing them to issue airline tickets and access global airline inventory and pricing systems.
• LufthansacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Kolumbs website, indicating they sell Lufthansa flights as part of their travel packages. Lufthansa is a major international airline offering global routes.
• SwedbankcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPayment processing partner enabling online bank transfers and card payments. Swedbank is one of the largest banks in the Baltic region, providing secure payment infrastructure for Kolumbs transactions.
• SEBcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPayment processing partner enabling online bank transfers and card payments. SEB is a major Scandinavian bank operating in Latvia, providing secure payment infrastructure for Kolumbs transactions.
• VisacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPayment processing partner enabling credit card payments for travel bookings. Visa is a global payments technology company that facilitates secure card transactions.
• MastercardcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPayment processing partner enabling credit card payments for travel bookings. Mastercard is a global payments technology company facilitating secure card transactions.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Coral Travel Latvia: Latvian branch of tour operator Coral Travel, offering package holidays to Turkey, Egypt, and other sun destinations; directly competes with Kolumbs in the same destination corridors and customer base.
• Novatours: Latvian tour operator selling package holidays to Mediterranean and exotic destinations, directly overlapping with Kolumbs' core offering of summer/exotic packages to Turkey, Malta, and Egypt.
• TezTour Latvia: Latvian tour operator specializing in package tours to Turkey, Egypt, Greece, and Spain; mirrors Kolumbs' curated destination list and target customer of Latvian leisure travelers.
• CVC: International travel agency group with Latvia presence, offering packaged tours and retail travel services to consumers; competes with Kolumbs for retail travel bookings in Riga.

Emerging players

• Lastminute.com: European online travel agency focused on last-minute deals and packaged holidays; overlaps with Kolumbs' summer/exotic packages and appeals to Baltic consumers seeking discounted trips.

Broad incumbents

• Expedia: Major global OTA offering flights, hotels, and vacation packages; an indirect competitor as Latvian travelers increasingly bypass retail agencies and book directly on Expedia's platform.
• TUI: Global tour operator with a Latvian operation offering package holidays to Turkey, Egypt, and dozens of other destinations; much larger scale and stronger brand gives it incumbency advantages over Kolumbs.
• Booking.com: Global OTA dominating hotel and package bookings in Latvia; competes with Kolumbs for self-serve online travelers searching for the same destinations and adjacent properties.
• Trip.com: Global OTA with growing presence in Europe offering flights, hotels, and packaged tours; an indirect competitor for Latvian travelers comfortable booking online.

Regional players

• ltv.lv: Latvian regional travel agency offering packaged tours and group travel across the Baltics; shares Kolumbs' focus on local preferred destinations and group/individual travel programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kolumbs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Columbus