Twenty months ago, Intrepid Group founders Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester bought their company back from European tour conglomerate TUI. Wade stepped down as CEO earlier this month, passing the baton to 35-year-old James Thornton. Intrepid reported that it has enjoyed record sales since the change, and Travel Weekly senior editor Michelle Baran spoke with Thornton about how he plans to continue that growth, with an emphasis on sustainable travel, well into the future.
Q: Why were you brought on as CEO at a time when Intrepid appeared to be doing very well?
James Thornton
A: I think [Wade and Manchester] have always wanted to see Intrepid grow the market for sustainable tourism well after they've gone. So the plan has always been to appoint a successor, ideally internally, to grow the vision for the next generation.
Q: What does it mean to grow the market for sustainable tourism?
A: Growing the market for sustainable, experience-rich travel and operating a company that has a purpose beyond profit, we really think that those two things can be aligned. We've definitely over the last 20 months shifted our business mindset from short-term financial results to a much more longer-term perspective focused on people and the planet. We're seeing some challenges with some poor global political leadership going on in the world at the moment, and I really believe that good businesses have the potential to fill that void. They can lead the drive to find solutions to some of the world's biggest challenges: climate change, issues of diversity, issues around the migrant or refugee crisis or biodiversity. But to really make a material difference, we require scale, which means we will need to grow. So I honestly believe that the growth and purpose are indelibly linked. Those two goals of growth and purpose beyond profit over the last 20 months have definitely shown us that having a purpose beyond profit can actually be pretty profitable.
Q: Do you see the changing political climate in the U.S. and elsewhere as a hurdle or motivator for you in achieving some of these goals?
A: We have a strategic intention to try to change the way that people see the world. And we'll do that by delivering the best sustainable, experience-rich travel. Now that's not for everyone. And we make no apologies for that. We do strongly believe that our style of travel helps make a difference. Travel agents in particular have got the opportunity to do more than just sell holidays. They can make conscious decisions to enrich the lives of their clients with life-changing travel that benefits people and the places they visit. In fact, I actually think because we're such a strong company in terms of a sense of purpose, it will actually lead to more travelers wanting to travel with organizations such as ourselves. And I think in today's climate, businesses shouldn't be afraid to talk to that.
Q: Where do you see the most opportunity in the travel industry?
A: I think it's a real golden age for travel at the moment. Flight prices are some of the best that we've ever seen, especially over the course of the last 20 or 30 years. It's a pretty exciting time to be involved in the travel industry as people are increasingly looking to have experiences rather than possessions.
Q: Where do you see the tour operator landscape in 10 years?
A: Ten years ago, Intrepid was a $40 million business. Today we're a $300 million business. So I think [the future holds anything] but the death of tour operators, especially in the world we live in where there's a degree of uncertainty around politics or concerns around safety of travel. The main reasons to travel with us, one is the responsible travel drive, and two is the security that traveling in a group environment provides. We've grown from $40 million to $300 million in 10 years, I can't see any reason why we wouldn't be $1 billion [business] in 10 years.