Intrepid to scale back discounts
Intrepid Travel is to scale back its discounts but admitted they will continue to play an important role in its marketing.
Co-founder Geoff Manchester told Travel Today that while special deals do no harm, the continued incentive of heavy discounting may be counter productive.
“Longer term it’s not great which is why we will be reducing the level of discounts over a period of time,” he said. “In the shorter term we need them because they are demanded by the public.”
While consumers don’t necessarily book the tour which is discounted, it attracts them to the market in the first place, he said.
Intrepid, like many operators, was forced to discount after a disappointing 2011, Manchester said. Despite the strength of the dollar and record numbers of outbound travellers, last year was a “struggle”, he said. Sales have since picked up.
“North America kept growing for us but Australia and the UK was a struggle,” Manchester said. “Both have picked up since January and the only thing I can think of is that consumers have become more cautious and they are looking at the value end of the market. We are having a good year.”
South America and Europe have performed well while Asia has remained popular with Thailand enjoying its best year for two or three years.
Turkey has also seen strong growth, partially a result of the upheavals in the Middle East. The region has picked up but “nothing significant”, Manchester said.
Meanwhile, Intrepid’s group sailing program which launched in January is set for expansion with Italy and the Whitsundays added to product already featured in Thailand, Greece and Croatia.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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