Intrepid, Chimu polar pact

CHIMU Adventures will ramp up its cruise charter business to polar regions as part of a strategic partnership with Intrepid Group.

Under an alliance formalised on Fri between the two Australian travel companies, the small group adventure travel specialist will be able to offer polar products for the first time under its primary tour operation, Intrepid.

Intrepid Group has offered Polar product through the Peregrine brand for a number of years, but the arrangement with Chimu will present new options, including a potential ship of its own.

The pact will see Intrepid buy a 50% stake in Chimu Adventures, its Asia based tour operator, Get About Asia & three sales offices in the United Kingdom, Sydney and the Sunshine Coast, as well as a 50% investment in three DMCs Chimu operates in South America.

Both companies will continue to operate autonomously, with Intrepid set to inject funds into securing extra cruise charters for Chimu to Antarctica for future years, Intrepid chief exec James Thornton told Cruise Weekly.

Thornton, who previously flagged Intrepid’s expansion into Polar regions exclusively to Cruise Weekly ( CW 07 Mar), said he was “very excited” about the tie-up.

Chimu Adventures already offers a diverse mix of Antarctica and Arctic cruises, and this year chartered four sailings.

Co-founder Chad Carey said Chimu has a “huge range” of cruises to Antarctica, offering almost 30 sailings, whether it be a charter, allocation or free-sale.

“We have something for all ranges and all budgets - top-end right through to the lower-end.

“It’s really exciting to grow on that and to be able to offer more competitive rates in the Australian market space.”

Fellow co-founder Greg Carter said Chimu was the only operator who chartered boats out of both South America and Australia.

“We’re keen to grow on that with the Intrepid Group and their Polar program through Peregrine. We are hoping to expand on that and increase our charters,” Carter told Cruise Weekly this morning.

Charter expansion is likely to see more departures from Hobart to Antarctica for the 2019/2020 season, the Intrepid boss added, with ship availability for the 2018/19 season a challenge.

Questioned if the pact with Chimu would span ship building, Thornton said: “For now we want to start by increasing the number of charters that Chimu can operate...but of course in time as our volume grows and awareness through the region grows, it’s natural that we’ll have to consider those options and it will be specific on whether we can get the right ship and right product for our style of travel”.

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