Check out your Company Bowl for anonymous work chats.
As a travel company, we believe it’s crucial to remain transparent and accountable to local communities. That's why, exactly one year since we launched our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in Australia, our Chief People and Purpose Officer Natalie Kidd has shared our progress so far — including where we’ve fallen short. We're halfway through our two-year plan and a few highlights include: - Despite travel restrictions during 2020/21 limiting inter-state travel, 853 customers experienced a First Nations tourism experience with us in Australia over the past year. - Increased the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences on our trips from 12 to 40 (233%). - Nearly half our Australian itineraries now include a First Nations experience. We look forward to continuing our reconciliation journey - in Australia and all around the world.
As tourism rebuilds, the industry is looking to more resilient models, such as our new partnership with conservation association MEET Network in Europe. "It’s a promising approach — partnering with an established, niche conservation group to offer trips focused on uncrowded Mediterranean villages and protected areas," writes Lebawit Lily Girma for Skift. These trips feature more remote and less visited destinations, where travellers can stay with local families, dine at little-known eateries and form a true connection with the place and people.
Intrepid Travel and Welcome to Country partnered for National Reconciliation Week (NRW) 2021 to encourage Australians to book a First Nations tourism experience. The theme for National Reconciliation Week (27 May-3 June) is: More than a word. Reconciliation takes action. By directing its customers to Welcome to Country, Intrepid aims to encourage Aussies to take action and discover the incredible depth of First Nations stories, cultures and languages in their own backyard. Welcome to Country is a not-for-profit organisation that empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to create economic and wellbeing outcomes. It curates, promotes and sells more than 140 First Nations tourism experiences all around Australia via its marketplace – the first of its kind. Intrepid’s Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan was endorsed by Reconciliation Australia in 2020 and all our newly designed closer to home trips in Australia include at least one First Nations experience, some of which are also available on Welcome to Country.
Intrepid Travel's Co-Founder & Chairman Darrell Wade, explains our approach to operating in an environmentally and community-friendly way, while offering enriching tours and experiences. "I was running the business from my kitchen table in Melbourne and Manch was our first tour leader in Thailand. We had 47 customers that first year, so we certainly were not a success from day one! It all grew from there, and in 2019 we carried 460,000 passengers."
The World Travel & Tourism Council and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have published a case study on why Intrepid Travel pursued B Corp Certification and how it has changed our business for the better.
Intrepid Travel has launched new domestic multi-day tours for American travellers, with departures from May 2021 onwards. These trips are designed to help local businesses recover while helping travellers get back to doing what they love. Like all Intrepid tours, they focus on sustainable and immersive experiences, such as sharing a meal with a Navajo family near Zion National Park in Utah, shucking oysters at Hog Island in Sonoma in California and more. “Bringing Intrepid’s style of travel to America for American travellers means we can appropriately honour and support Indigenous experiences, support local businesses that are pursuing sustainable practices and offer an entirely carbon-offset style of travel, including redefining an American road trip from four to two wheels on our Cycling tours," says Matt Berna, Intrepid Travel’s managing director in North America.
On 1 April 2021, Intrepid welcomed French-based family company Genairgy as a minority stakeholder in our global business. Genairgy is owned by Julien Leclercq, a board member and shareholder of Decathlon, one of the largest sports retailers globally, and Genairgy is fully aligned with Intrepid’s mission to become the first purpose-led $1 billion global adventure travel company. This strategic partnership is also the biggest investment in Intrepid's 32-year history, which will accelerate our growth and pursuit to be the best travel company for the world. Specifically, it will help Intrepid accelerate our digital transformation, product innovation, market expansion and purpose initiatives, carving out a clear path towards realising our goals.
Science-based targets are one of the most effective ways for businesses to take action on climate change – and Intrepid Travel is proud to be the first global tour operator with verified science-based targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). These ambitious 2035 emissions reduction targets are in line with a 1.5°C future, as outlined in the historic 2015 Paris Agreement. Our actions include reducing emissions across our operations and trips, including replacing transportation options on many itineraries to lower-carbon alternatives. Internally, we’re reducing international business travel, procuring renewable electricity and transitioning to 100 per cent renewable energy in our global offices by 2025. Find out more and meet our environmental impact specialist Dr Susanne Etti: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/adventures/climate-sus
Intrepid Travel has been recognised as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2021 by Fast Company. This globally recognised list ranks businesses — in all sectors, across the globe — that are making the most profound impact on both industry and culture in today’s world. These organisations are recognised for creating shared value, including for employees, customers, partners and the planet. According to Fast Company, Intrepid Travel was recognised for its leadership in sustainability, product innovation and advocacy projects, which our business implemented in 2020, while COVID-19 brought the world — and the travel industry — to a halt.
Intrepid Travel marked International Women’s Day (8 March 2021) by celebrating 40 inspiring Intrepid women and allies who were nominated by their global colleagues. This recognised women who have made positive impacts on their teams, communities, and families throughout the pandemic. Alongside being certified B Corp, the company is committed to providing women with greater working opportunities. In 2017, Intrepid became a signatory to the UN Global Compact Women’s Empowerment Principles. That same year, the company identified that there was an opportunity to increase the number of women who worked as tour leaders. In many countries, this is a role that has typically been held by men. The company set a goal to double its number of female leaders by 2020 – which it achieved a year early, with more than 300 female leaders by 2019. Learn more: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/gender-equality
