"Travel has changed, and so have we," Intrepid Travel said in a rebrand launch video. For the first time in over 15 years, the sustainable tour operator has created a new identity, with the rebranding aimed at protecting the planet, empowering communities and creating a more equitable experience for all travelers. As part of the announcement, the company also unveiled a new global portfolio of travel experiences.
As part of its brand refresh, the company has made four noteworthy changes including its first product statement, a new vision, mission and purpose.
The tour operator has introduced a product statement into its brand book. This singular product statement acknowledges that sustainability and travel are not mutually exclusive. The company has been retooling its offerings over the past 18 months ahead of this rebrand. Its trips will have a renewed focus on disability support, wildlife and environmental conservation, preservation of indigenous and minority cultural traditions, gender equality and empowerment, and skills training and education. Of the 880 multi-day tours offered by Intrepid Travel, over 20 percent (200 tours) didn’t exist before March 2020. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, new trips have been added in over 50 countries, including more walking tours, a collection of higher-end Premium adventures, and a range of domestic tours in key source markets, many of which are focused on including experiences that support first nations and indigenous communities around the world.
The company is focusing on building a more human and inclusive brand. Its new vision has been updated from “changing the way people see the world” to “changing the way we all see the world.”
Watch the brand launch video here:
One step taken to create a more inclusive brand is the company’s newly launched Global Ethical Marketing Policy and forthcoming Ethical Marketing Guidelines. The guidelines, which have been created in collaboration with six external consultants who are experts in areas like BIPOC travel, LGBTQIA+, size inclusivity, modern colonialism, and impact/greenwashing, will create and sustain accountability around allyship within Intrepid Travel’s external communications. For instance, under this new policy Intrepid has made over 20 commitments that will be reported on annually, such as having at least 50 percent of its partner creators and influencers from the BIPOC community, creating size inclusive resources for travelers, and publishing a minimum of five stories on its blog centered around the truth of the impact of colonization.
Intrepid Travel’s new purpose statement builds on the B Corp-certified, carbon-neutral tour company’s long-standing track record as a leading sustainable, ethical tour operator, ensuring both people and the planet are considered in every decision and department within the business.
In its pursuit of operating in line with best practices for the earth and all its inhabitants, Intrepid Travel says it has become the first and only tour operator in the world with verified science-based climate targets in October 2020, open-sourced a decarbonization guide and animal welfare toolkit for other travel companies to implement in their own operations and will recertify as the world’s largest travel B Corp in December 2021.
The company has also embedded gender equality into its seven-point climate action plan and has created a new email address ([email protected]) so the public can hold the company accountable, bringing any potential non-inclusive issues to the attention of its staff.
Intrepid Travel’s mission is to prove that what makes travel fun can also make it responsible. Oftentimes the experiences that bring travelers the most joy are ones that benefit the planet and its people, such as community-based tourism, which provides economic and social benefits to locals while offering travelers an immersive and authentic view of a community’s heritage and cultural practices.
The tour operator’s new mission will be supported by the company’s growth, as the increased success of the business provides more opportunity to use its influence and finances to support the planet and its people. By 2025, Intrepid Travel aims to become the first $1 billion dollar adventure travel company and travel B Corp. The company will balance its purpose and profit to fuel its growth, in order to create more opportunities for global travelers to adventure responsibly while continuing to advocate for and support the world’s most pressing issues, such as climate action, inclusivity and addressing global inequity.
In early 2021, the company announced a strategic partnership with France-based investment company Genairgy, which will facilitate the business’ growth strategy in four key areas including digital transformation, market expansion, product innovation and purpose initiatives. Intrepid is also pursuing several key partnerships and acquisitions with responsibly minded travel and hospitality companies to expand its portfolio and offerings over the next several years. The company recently announced its acquisition of Haka Tours, an Auckland-based travel company offering a range of trips with a focus on authentic cultural experiences of Aotearoa/New Zealand that enables Intrepid to expand its global network and operate an enhanced travel product in the region.
For more information, visit www.intrepidtravel.com.
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