Australian adventure tour operator Intrepid Travel has acquired Suntrek Tours of Santa Rosa, Calif.
Suntrek offers small-group (no group exceeds 13 travelers) adventure tours in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. Intrepid also caters to small groups.
Half of Suntrek's business comes from European travelers, and Suntrek has a sales office in Germany.
Daniel Hiltebrand, president and founder of Suntrek, will remain with the company until the end of January, when Matt Berna will take over as president.
Earlier this month, Intrepid Travel purchased a 20% stake in OUT Adventures, a Toronto-based gay and lesbian travel company.
"Intrepid Travel will benefit from these relationships in markets where it is seeking to grow its presence," the Australian company said in a release.
Intrepid did not reveal the purchase price for Suntrek, but said it has invested more than $10 million in the North American market over the last 18 months.
Intrepid was founded in 1989, and in 2000 "embarked on a global vertical integration strategy, establishing operations companies in many of the countries that it travels to," the company said.
"We hope our purchase of Suntrek provides some good news amidst the doom and gloom," said Intrepid co-founder and CEO Darrell Wade. "Historically, people turn to adventure travel when it the going gets tough as it is a cheaper, better-value style of travel."