Intrepid splits with TUI, cans PEAK travel

The Intrepid Travel Group is splitting up with TUI Group, ending their PEAK Adventure Travel Group venture, and returning to its original Aussie roots.

The four-year partnership is dissolving as a result of changing market trends, and will allow each Group to focus more on their respective adventure market segments.

“This move will now make us 100% Australian owned and based,” Intrepid Group’s managing director James Thornton told Travel Weekly.

“We are a real Australian success story, and being privately owned allows us to focus on giving back to the communities we visit.”

Under the new arrangement, Intrepid Travel co-founders Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester will take back full ownership of the original adventure travel brand they founded in 1989, as well as the portfolio of brands that make up the Intrepid Group.

Darrell Wade will continue as ceo alongside md Thornton, while TUI’s Specialist Group will now create an Adventure Specialist Division, taking on a collection of higher-end experiential brands to keep in line with their new venture.

These brands include Exodus, Headwater, TrekAmerica, Grand American Adventures and Sawadee, which previously operated under the PEAK umbrella, with Quark Expeditions, Zegrahm Expeditions and International Expeditions, previously operating within the Specialist Group’s North American Specialist Division.

“As a result of the partnership ending, we are now able to be more agile and innovative in our approach, which is not always possible in a corporate market,” Thornton told Travel Weekly.

“We are one of the fastest growing sectors in the market, and can now have priorities of long term growth at the forefront of what we do.”

“We aim to continue to develop a different style of product, such as our recently launched Expedition Trips, which are more focused on travelling off the beaten track.”

Explaining the decision, PEAK’s former ceo Darrell Wade said the travel industry is changing, and this is essentially what led to the divide.

“Over the last four years we’ve seen huge growth in the adventure travel sector globally. Whilst the formation of PEAK served all brands well at the time, we now recognise that we have different priorities and business philosophies,” Wade said.

Adding to this, Thornton told TW that Intrepid’s focus has always been about adventure travel broadening people’s awareness and “getting under the skin of a destination and place.”

“Adventure travel is all about an attitude and appetite for adventure, and people with restless minds wanting to discover the world we live in,” Thornton said.

“Intrepid is about getting out there, being real, being curious, trying the local food, all of those aspects, and it’s these ideas we will be working towards in the next few weeks and months.”

Wade said the coming out of the venture as a privately-owned travel company puts Intrepid in a fresh and exciting position.

“We’ve been observing emerging trends across the adventure travel sector globally, and now we can work quickly with our destination management companies and industry partners to grow the market for authentic local experiences that truly benefit both travellers and the places they visit,” he said.

TUI’s Adventure Specialist Division will be led by its md Hans Lagerweij, and focus on innovating within the more specialist experiential holiday market.

“The way people holiday continues to evolve. Looking at the way people enjoy adventure travel, it has become apparent that two increasingly distinct styles have emerged and that the appetite for more unique, higher-end and active experiences will only increase over the coming years,” Lagerweij said.

“In order to best serve these markets and remain leaders within our fields we believe it is the right time to divide PEAK’s brands to concentrate on the adventure traveller’s changing needs.”

Wade added that Intrepid Group will continue to work closely with TUI in a number of areas to ensure it’s business as usual for their industry partners.