Intrepid Travel’s new global purpose platform to drive responsible growth has been developed in close collaboration with local teams around the world and launched with a hero film and updated website.
At the centre is The Intrepid Effect, a move towards showing the real-world outcomes of travel through stories and lived experiences. Stories include a “tuktuk ride that put her in the driver’s seat”, referencing an e-rickshaw city tour in India, run by the women-led not-for-profit Pink City Rickshaw and incorporated into several Intrepid itineraries including its India Women’s Expedition and Rajasthan Experience.
The initiative trains women to drive and maintain e-rickshaws for tours in Jaipur, while also supporting drivers with financial and business literacy. Another example, “an incredible bowl of pho in Hanoi, giving kids a second chance”, highlights a meal at Vietnam’s first social enterprise, a youth training restaurant featured on many Intrepid trips including Classic Vietnam and Cambodia and Vietnam Discovery.
Intrepid has worked with the organisation, KOTO, for over 20 years, supporting its mission to empower disadvantaged young people in Vietnam through training and employment opportunities.
The Intrepid Effect storytelling shift comes as frameworks such as the EU Green Claims Directive and updated B Corp minimum standards reshape how companies communicate environmental and social impact, with greater emphasis on transparency, accountability and evidence.
“In a changing regulatory landscape, we want to ensure travellers can clearly see and understand the small difference their individual journeys make,” Intrepid Travel chief marketing officer Hazel McGuire.
“Rather than leading with aspirational claims or unverified impact metrics, which can be commonplace in the travel industry, Intrepid wants to shift the focus to real experiences and tangible moments that travellers can see, feel and understand. The Intrepid Effect connects experiences to real outcomes for host communities and places, underpinned by impact measurement.”
B Corp certification under the new standards begins in 2026, while the EU Green Claims Directive comes into force in September 2026. In response, Intrepid is also releasing its new Responsible Marketing & PR Policy, outlining how it looks to continue to centre purpose and lead with its values.
This builds on its Ethical Marketing Guidelines, with an increased focus on transparency and updated standards across PR, data and digital marketing. The latest version includes a new commitment to openness and transparency and avoidance of terms such as “sustainability” and “regeneration”, as well as updated standards for public relations, data and digital marketing.
