BUENOS AIRES, April 7 (Reuters) - Latin America-focused online travel agency Despegar plans to triple in size over the next three years, driven by its operations in Brazil and plans to invest $100 million per year over the period, its newly-appointed CEO told Reuters.

The company, acquired a year ago by Dutch technology investor Prosus, will invest in technology "for a future very much based on artificial intelligence", top executive Gonzalo Estebarena said.

Founded in Argentina in 1999, Despegar is one of Latin America's largest online travel platforms. It delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after its acquisition by Prosus for around $1.7 billion.

"We have a guiding goal of tripling the company in three to four years in terms of transaction volume and operations," Estebarena said in an interview at Despegar's offices in Buenos Aires.

"The growth rate we are proposing going forward is much more aggressive than the growth seen over the previous seven or eight years," he added.

The firm expects to more than triple its gross bookings to $18 billion by the end of the decade from current figures.

Estebarena, who served as Despegar's chief technology officer before taking on his new role this month, said growth will be led by integration with other platforms in Brazil, where Prosus owns several technology companies, including iFood, the country's largest food delivery app.

Since beginning that integration in 2025, 14% of revenue at Decolar--Despegar's brand in Brazil--has come from iFood customers who earned points through a loyalty program, according to Estebarena.

"It gives us a lot of confidence, because iFood has 25 times the customer base of Decolar. It is definitely a growth avenue. The opportunity is enormous," he said.

There has been some slowdown in ticket and travel package sales as the war in the Middle East has pushed up oil prices and generated uncertainty among customers, he said.

"The main impact is the uncertainty it creates among people and, potentially--although not yet to the extent it could reach in the future--we are starting to see an impact on prices due to rising fuel costs," Estebarena said.

(Reporting by Eliana Raszewski; Writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

By Eliana Raszewski