Intrepid Travel
 | |
| Tour Operator | |
| Industry | Tourism |
| Founded | 1989 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
Key people |
Darrell Wade, Co-Founder and CEO Geoff Manchester, Co-Founder and Chairman of The Intrepid Foundation James Thornton, Managing Director of the Intrepid Group |
| Products | Adventure travel |
Number of employees | Over 1,600 [1] |
| Website |
www |
Intrepid Travel is the world's largest small group adventure travel company[2]. The company offers more than 1,500 itineraries in over 120 countries.[3] Destinations include Asia, Latin America, North America, Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Australasia, and Antarctica.
Intrepid trips are of the grassroots type., and include travel via public transport, local food, and locally-owned accommodation.[1][4]
The company has a focus on responsible travel and is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact[5]. It became a carbon neutral business in 2010[6] and was the first global travel company to take a stance on elephant rides. [7][8] By 2016, the company's philanthropic fund had distributed more than $5 million towards healthcare, human rights, child welfare and environmental and wildlife protection programs in the communities in which it operates[9].
The company has won several awards, which are listed on its website [10] They include the 2002 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award,[11] 2007 Winner of the PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Gold Award for Corporate Environmental Programme.
History
The company was founded in 1988 by two Australians, Darrell Wade and Geoff 'Manch' Manchester, who continue to own the company.[1][12] It was a division of PEAK Adventure Travel Group, a joint venture of Intrepid Group and TUI Group which owned several adventure tour operator companies, but the principals separated in 2015. Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester took back ownership of the Intrepid brand along with a group of tour operator brands under the banner of the Intrepid Group, including Adventure Tours Australia, Geckos Adventures, Intrepid Travel, Peregrine Adventures, The Family Adventure Company and Urban Adventures. The group also includes the not-for-profit The Intrepid Foundation, and 17 individual destination management companies operating under the PEAK DMC brand.[13]
References
- 1 2 3 Intrepid Travel: Our Story
- ↑ "‘Purpose beyond profit’ drives Intrepid founder’s big adventure". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
- ↑ Intrepid Travel
- ↑ Frommer, Arthur (30 September 2007). "Tour group has solo-adventurer style". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ↑ "Intrepid Travel – Global Compact Network Australia". www.unglobalcompact.org.au. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
- ↑ "6 Year Carbon Neutral Anniversary for Intrepid Travel! » Ecotourism Australia". www.ecotourism.org.au. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
- ↑ Top 25 responsible travel achievements in 25 years
- ↑ "Asia Pacific Slowly Wakes Up to Carbon-Neutral Tourism". travelindustrywire.com. 2 May 2008.
- ↑ "‘Purpose beyond profit’ drives Intrepid founder’s big adventure". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
- ↑ Intrepid: Media Awards
- ↑ "Previous Winners - Entrepreneur Of The Year Finalists & Winners 2002". Ernst and Young. 2002.
- ↑ O'Sullivan, Kay. "From backpackers to $129 million a year". The Age. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ David Cogswell (July 6, 2015). "Intrepid Group and TUI Group End PEAK Adventure Travel Group Joint Venture". travelpulse.com. Retrieved February 8, 2016.