Intrepid Travel has appointed tour industry veteran Matt Berna managing director of North America to expand and oversee its operations in Canada and the U.S. Senior editor Jeri Clausing spoke with Berna about his role and the company's long-term plans for building up its presence here.
Matt Berna
Q: Tell me about your new role and how this all came about.
A: I just came out of the B2B global sales role. And with Covid we had a chance to kind of reevaluate the business structure, and we decided to take a regional focus. I am overseeing our outbound strategies for industry partners and for our direct sales strategies for the U.S. and Canada. At the same time, I've been tasked with developing a North America range of sustainable experiences and adventure travel products. That portfolio has been really light the last several years, and that's really my experience as a business manager. In my old role, we worked with a lot of white-label partners -- tour operators, women's groups, hiking groups, that sort of thing. So that's something we will continue developing, as well.
Q: So these new products are in response to the pandemic and the expected continued demand for more domestic and regional travel?
A: It's interesting because it started pre-Covid. Quite a few of the initiatives that Intrepid is working on were conceived pre-Covid. But we were so busy managing the business as it was ... last year was our best year ever in all regions. With Covid, that was really the first chance to really step back and take a deep breath and say, "OK, now it's more important than ever to accelerate these plans."
My experience for the last 25 years has been developing travel experiences for inbound, international visitors. And we know the U.S. domestic customer is looking for more meaningful, more insightful experiences, because it's their backyard. So we have to, of course, address that. Some of the easier fixes would be looking at the level of accommodations, travel time. You know, much shorter holidays, three to five days, and more specific itineraries than a more all-encompassing two-week itinerary [for international travelers].
Q: When will these new itineraries be offered?
A: We are just about to launch our new wave of trips this month. What is interesting is we understand that while there are adjustments that we need to make, we also decided to follow Intrepid's model, which has worked so well for the last 30 years. It's a small group, 10 or 12 travelers. And very immersive. So we try to include as much human interaction as we can. So it definitely features some aspect of indigenous culture and communities. We have a guided tour of the Navajo Nation with a visit with a family on a reservation. So we're really excited about those kinds of experiences. And this is the bigger challenge: We're trying to work with eco-conscious suppliers, particularly accommodation suppliers. And I say that because it's so easy to default to chain hotels and get the great value. But we're trying to find those unique properties ... like those that are family-owned and have sustainability practices of their own and welcome us like a group of friends. That's a much better experience.
Q: What are some of the new itineraries that will start this month?
A: It's a pretty small range. We have an Alaska northern lights trip, western Canada. One's a multisport, winter-based trip. And, for example, in the Southwest, Zion and of course the Navajo Nation. Those are the winter trips. The portfolio will widen by the spring. That will include some cycling-based trip. And we hope to include some point-to-point walking-based itineraries.
Q: Do you have any idea how many offerings you will have come summer?
A: No, not exactly, to be honest. I have a pipeline probably much wider than I can produce through our channels. But I would expect anywhere from 20 to 30 trips operating next summer across the U.S., Canada and Alaska.
Q: I know a lot of your travelers share a room, often with people they don't know. Will that change because of the pandemic?
A: Intrepid travelers really appreciate the value that offers. But yes, we would typically book three or four single rooms per departure, but we are increasing that number so we can make as many single rooms available [as requested].