TORONTO — Intrepid is shelving its Geckos Adventures brand in favour of a new division called ‘Intrepid Travel’s 18 to 29s’, effective Oct. 1.

All Geckos Adventures tours will become Intrepid Travel’s 18 to 29s trips. The collection will offer 20% more departures and new trips to destinations such as Iceland and Russia for 2019, says the company.

The new range covers more than 80 trips exclusively designed for 18 to 29-year-old travellers.

Global sales were up 17% last year for Intrepid. The 18 to 29 age group is a key demographic fuelling that growth, says the company, with a 7% increase in departures in 2017.

The new trips will be priced at the same level as Intrepid’s Basix range, Intrepid Group CEO James Thornton. The company will be offering $99 deposits on all of its 18 to 29s trips.

“Sustainable travel doesn’t have to be expensive,” says Thornton. “This age group will increasingly influence travel trends. Their buying decisions can help to reduce demand for activities like visiting orphanages or riding elephants.”

Thornton says Intrepid has partnered with Friends-International, a leading social enterprise saving lives and building futures for marginalized young people around the world, and will make a donation to Friends-International for every 18 to 29s trip booked.

Thornton says that the decision to merge Geckos into Intrepid 18 to 29s makes sense.

“We know this is the right decision. Intrepid has four times the number of 18 to 29s travellers as Geckos. It’s a global brand, whereas Geckos is almost entirely sold in Australia.”

He added: “Focusing the power of our global brand on the youth market is just another way that we can invest in sustainable travel for the long-term. Intrepid has a much bigger audience and this decision means we can have better conversations with 18 to 29s about the things that matter.”