Intrepid targets $1 billion

INTREPID Travel is continuing its strong growth trajectory, with co-founder Darrell Wade yesterday saying the company is “pretty confident we’ll hit a billion bucks by 2025”.

Wade was the keynote speaker at a lunch hosted by the Council of Australian Tour Operators (see p2), and gave an insight into the operator’s recent history, particularly since it split with its former joint venture partner TUI.

He said the Intrepid business started growing once it was back in private hands just over four years ago, and was on track to more than double from $240 million in TTV at that time to about $500 million next year.

Wade said the company grew 20% last year, and current strong forward bookings indicated an even stronger 2019.

However a key driver of the business has been to “grow with purpose,” with Wade stressing that while profit is an outcome, it wasn’t a primary motivator.

Since retaking control Intrepid has gone through a major process of becoming a “B-Corp” or “Benefits Corp” which saw every part of the business audited to check its ongoing compliance with sustainability objectives.

Wade also highlighted the importance of industry collaboration, saying in the past he believed there had been too much focus on industry rivalry rather than collectively pursuing common interests.