Since being founded in 1989, Intrepid Travel has built a multi-million dollar business on one principle: that human connection is the most powerful antidote to fear and the unknown.
Through small groups and shared experience, it has helped travellers discover that regardless of differences in background, belief or geography, people often have far more in common than they think. In a world where social media algorithms pull us apart and loneliness has reached epidemic levels, that proposition has rarely felt more relevant.
And the unknown is something the travel industry knows all too well right now. Conflict in the Middle East is disrupting global aviation, lifting fuel prices and raising fresh questions about how easily Australians can connect to the rest of the world.
Which makes the timing of Intrepid’s latest move especially striking. This week, amid mounting uncertainty across global travel markets, the company closed the largest acquisition in its 37-year history: French adventure operator Altaï Group.
Its CEO, James Thornton, is already looking for the next one.
The billion-dollar question
For James Thornton, the question hanging over the travel sector is the same one facing his own business: can momentum survive another geopolitical shock?
Speaking from Germany as Intrepid Travel continues its European expansion, Thornton was candid when asked whether the company’s long-stated $1 billion revenue target remains on track.
“It depends what happens in the world at the moment, to be honest with you.”
Had the question been asked on February 27, he said, the answer would have been straightforward.
Intrepid generated more than $800 million in revenue in 2025, up nearly 30 per cent year on year. It carried more than 350,000 customers globally, delivered $42.9 million in underlying EBITDA and paid $12.8 million in staff bonuses. The business entered 2026 with rare momentum.
Then February 28 happened.
The outbreak of conflict in the Middle East sent fresh shockwaves through global aviation, closed key air corridors, pushed fuel prices higher and injected uncertainty into forward bookings across the industry.
“Obviously, with what’s happening at the moment, that’s created a bit of uncertainty,” Thornton said. “If we don’t get to a billion this year, we’ll certainly get to it next year.”
The comment was measured rather than defensive. It also reflects a broader truth across today’s business world: investors can model demand, but not geopolitics.
What has not changed is strategy.
Thornton said Intrepid’s recent push into Australian accommodation – with six or seven deals across Tasmania, Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory and most recently the Red Centre – was a deliberate long-term move now proving its worth.
Since late February, booking patterns have shifted rather than stalled. European travellers are moving toward Morocco, Turkey and Egypt. North Americans are favouring Central and Latin America. Australians are booking strongly into Vietnam, Japan and domestic trips.
“One of the benefits we have is that because we’re a global operator with a global customer base, we’re fairly resilient,” Thornton said.
He also rejected the idea travellers have frozen altogether.
After three weeks moving through London, Barcelona, Marrakech, Paris and now Germany, Thornton’s assessment was notably upbeat.
“Planes are full. Train stations are full. If you weren’t on your phone, you’d have no idea that there’s some disruption going on in the world.”
The Altaï deal: Europe’s next frontier
Thornton’s trip to Germany comes days after Intrepid Travel closed its acquisition of Altaï Group – the largest deal in the company’s 37-year history – and he confirmed the next European target is already in sight.
The transaction brings a portfolio of French-language adventure brands into the Intrepid stable, including Atalante and Copines de Voyage, and follows the purchase of Dutch operator Sawadee Reizen just over a year ago. Together, they form part of a deliberate push into non-English speaking European markets – one Thornton says has been years in the making.
Intrepid to boost revenue by $100m with its largest acquisition yet
“We did the Netherlands first, now we’ve done France, and I’m in Germany at the moment – we’re progressively making our way through Europe,” he said.
It is a strategy grounded in a simple commercial reality: travel remains deeply local. Consumers often buy from trusted brands in their own language, through companies that understand local habits and preferences. Winning Europe may require looking European.
That expansion has been supported by French investor Genairgy, which acquired a 30 per cent equity stake in Intrepid in 2022 and has since provided both capital and market insight. Co-founders Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester remain majority owners and continue to sit on the board.
The Altaï deal also opens a pathway into French-speaking Canada – a market representing more than 20 per cent of total Canadian travel spend – though Thornton was careful to frame Quebec as a strategic bonus rather than the main rationale.
“It’s very much a deliberate strategy around entering non-English speaking markets in continental Europe. The French-speaking Canadian market is exciting, but that wasn’t the primary reason.”
With continental Europe firmly in his sights, Thornton appears in little mood to slow down – despite the turbulence around him.
B Corp offers no exemptions – not even for war
In perhaps the most revealing moment of the conversation, James Thornton confirmed that Intrepid Travel’s B Corp certification offers no special treatment for companies operating through global crises. Not pandemics. Not wars.
“They don’t factor it in, is the answer.”
Intrepid has held B Corp certification since 2018, making it one of the largest travel companies in the world to carry the accreditation. The standard requires rigorous performance across governance, workers, community impact, environment and customers – categories many companies celebrate in principle but struggle to embed in practice.
Thornton said Intrepid currently ranks among the top 30 large B Corps globally. But prestige comes with pressure.
He recalled the company’s first recertification in 2021, assessed largely against its 2020 performance – the worst year modern travel has experienced. Borders were shut, fleets grounded and revenue across the sector evaporated. The certification process did not soften.
“Intrepid got no special exemptions. Travel companies got no special treatment. You have to work within it.”
There was no appeal to extraordinary circumstances, no request for leniency. The company absorbed the setback, met the standard and moved on. As the industry enters another period of instability, the same discipline will apply.
That may be the deeper value of such frameworks. They are most meaningful when they remain inconvenient.
Thornton acknowledged maintaining the certification is becoming harder as Intrepid grows, with every legal entity across its 30-plus global offices required to be individually certified.
“It’s tricky to do, and it’s definitely tricky the larger the size of company you are.”
Impact and growth: not enemies
The question that haunts many purpose-led businesses at scale is whether values can survive once commercial pressure intensifies. When asked how he balances doing good with commercial goals, Thornton politely, but firmly, pushed back on the premise.
“I don’t think I see them as independent of each other,” he said. “The more Intrepid Travel grows, the more we’re able to invest in the impact space. And the more we tell the story around the impact work, the more it’s helped to propel our growth.”
It is a view more companies now claim, but few have tested through adversity.
During the pandemic, while much of the industry was cutting discretionary spend, Intrepid retained its purpose team and hired a climate scientist for the first time.
“We don’t see impact or climate work as nice to do. We see it as a core part of our DNA.”
That philosophy was reflected in the company’s decision last year to scrap its long-running carbon offsetting program – first introduced in 2010 – in favour of a $2 million annual Climate Impact Fund aimed at harder, less marketable work: decarbonising supply chains, electrifying vehicle fleets and helping partners reduce emissions.
“Offsetting alone won’t touch it in terms of complying with the Paris Agreement,” Thornton said.
The removal of internal flights from itineraries has also delivered a commercial dividend. Intrepid’s net promoter score reached 82 in 2025 and is tracking toward 83 in 2026 – unusually strong numbers for a global travel operator.
Despite the current uncertainty, Thornton said the company has no plans to pull back on marketing or investment, pointing to tram advertising in Melbourne and sponsorship of the North Melbourne Kangaroos as evidence of confidence in a demand rebound.
“When customers are ready to book, we want to make sure we can take advantage of that spike in demand.”
For a 37-year-old company that has navigated its share of uncertain cycles, the billion-dollar target may arrive later than planned.
It still appears firmly in sight.
James Thornton spoke exclusively to Travel Weekly from Germany. Intrepid Travel’s Altaï Group acquisition closed in April 2026.
