TORONTO — The guest of honour at Intrepid Travel’s meet & greet event last night was none other than company co-founder Darrell Wade.
Normally based in Australia, Wade was in town and took part in the fun industry gathering at Intrepid’s offices on Spadina Avenue in Toronto.
It’s part of a ‘world tour’ for Wade, one that has him visiting each of Intrepid’s 27 offices this year to mark the company’s 35th anniversary. Intrepid was founded in 1989 and is now the world’s largest adventure travel company.
Wade talked strategy as the company looks ahead to 2030.
“This strategy has me excited,” said Wade. “There are plenty of great, new things on our table at the moment like new DMCs, new product ranges and new acquisitions.”
Intrepid aims to double its customers to 600,000 globally and achieve revenues of $1.1 billion by 2030, with North America set to play a pivotal role in this growth as the company plans to open a new office base on the West Coast.
Matt Berna, President of the Americas at Intrepid Travel, noted that 2023 saw a record number of Canadians going on adventures with Intrepid, “and we expect this momentum to continue through to 2030, as we enter this new era for the brand. Coming out of the pandemic, we weren’t satisfied with having a short-term view, so we’re looking at taking the momentum from our most successful year and taking it to the next level looking into 2030.”
Bookings from the Canadian market grew by 36% year-over-year in 2023, with some of the more popular destinations including Morocco, Vietnam, Egypt, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Italy and Japan. In the first quarter of 2024, North American revenue has grown by 9% year-over-year.
Intrepid’s six-year strategy will focus on connecting more people with the company more often by expanding into new verticals, including via accommodation, publishing and more. It will leverage its existing global operational network and ensure more local communities can gain more benefit from tourism. Intrepid’s four new values are: Ambitious, Impactful, Real and Together.
“If we are successful in our 2030 Strategy, Intrepid will give back a record amount to environmental and social causes that we believe in as a business,” said Intrepid Travel CEO, James Thornton. “We will provide more travellers with more incredible experiences, more inspiration, more joy and more new ideas than ever before.”
Also of note, Intrepid has launched a new deal with book publisher Hardie Grant’s travel division, Hardie Grant Explore, to publish a series of travel books over the next three years. The Intrepid List will be the first to be published in October, available in shops and online starting November.
For more information, check out IntrepidTravel.com.
