Intrepid’s flagship Global Summit event is the biggest in its annual calendar and this year brought together 380 attendees from more than 35 countries across its global network for a week of connection, contribution, and celebration. The week-long gathering culminated in a full-day conference held at The Edge in Melbourne’s premier tourist location Federation Square on 1 March, with 3000 additional office staff and leaders from across the globe being invited to tune in via livestream. Notably, CEO James Thornton formally launched the company’s 2030 strategy and four new company values during the event.
Key highlights from Intrepid’s Global Summit:
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By 2030, Intrepid aims to double its customers to 600,000 and achieve revenues of $1.3bn, 1% of which will be directly contributed to Purpose initiatives.
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Intrepid will be more things, to more people, more often. Its six-year strategy focuses on connecting more people with Intrepid more often by expanding into new verticals, including via accommodation, publishing and more.
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Its strategy is built on the concept of meaningful and lasting human connection – Intrepid will do it better than anyone else by leveraging its existing global operational network and ensuring more local communities can benefit more from tourism.
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The company’s four new values are Ambitious, Impactful, Real and Together. These have been developed collaboratively by employee advocacy groups, or ‘values champions’, from across Intrepid’s global business.
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Intrepid has formally launched a new deal with leading book publisher Hardie Grant’s travel’s division, Hardie Grant Explore, to publish a series of travel books over the next three years. This will see its first book, The Intrepid List, published in October 2024 and in shops and online from November.
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Being a certified B Corp will remain a key priority for Intrepid, with the company set to undergo the rigorous recertification process later this year. B Corp certification means that a business has achieved the highest independent standards of social, environmental and governance performance.
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Intrepid’s co-founders, Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester, and CEO James Thornton, will now set out to visit each of Intrepid’s 27 country offices over the next four months with the aim of communicating and connecting the company strategy directly to its people.
Quotes attributable to Intrepid CEO, James Thornton:
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“At Intrepid, the problem we are solving is so much more than a holiday. We provide a sense of community and connectedness in an increasingly isolated and disconnected world. And we do it better than anyone else.”
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“People are at the heart of this strategy: Because we believe the World Needs More Intrepid People – that’s our aspiration and that is what we believe in.”
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“If we are successful in our 2030 Strategy, Intrepid will give back a record amount to environmental and social causes that we believe in as a business. We will provide more travellers with more incredible experiences, more inspiration, more joy and more new ideas than ever before. And we will be one of the most exciting, rewarding and innovative places to work – not in travel, but in the world.”
