Where some ultimately aim to be the best travel company in the world, Intrepid Travel proudly states its intention to be the best travel company FOR the world. It’s an admirable goal – and one it takes seriously.
To this end, Intrepid has released its latest Integrated Annual Report, which offers a fully transparent look at how the company performed in all elements of its business last year.
In its sixth Integrated Annual Report, Intrepid reveals how the company turned its fortunes around in 2022, reporting a “strong” operating cash inflow of $34.2 million (compared to a $31 million outflow in 2021).
Intrepid’s rapid return to a positive cash flow was bolstered by the reboot of operations in 86 countries and recruitment of more than 500 new staff. This helped the company significantly reduce its operational loss from over $60 million in 2021 to $25.9 million in 2022.
Crucially, Intrepid says it expects to return to profitability in 2023, with an EBITDA of above pre-pandemic levels.
Overall, the positive report doesn’t just reflect the comeback of travel post-COVID, but specifically the rising demand for sustainable and experiential travel.
Record sales
“This report marks Intrepid’s transition from survival to revival mode,” Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton said.
“I’m incredibly proud that we’ve continued to invest in the business and as a result, have emerged as a thriving, transformed company.”
The annual report also reveals that Intrepid Travel witnessed a record sales day on 3 December, with $6.1 million in bookings.
“There were so many highs last year, including experiencing our best booking days in our history during November and December 2022,” Thornton said.
“This was almost inconceivable at the start of the year and it’s truly remarkable how our business recovered, through the support of our industry partners and customers.”
The report reveals that Intrepid, the world’s largest travel B Corp, achieved its best-ever Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 75. Measuring customer loyalty, Intrepid aims to improve its NPS further still in 2023. The Australian company reached its highest employee NPS of 56 last year as well.
Keeping it green
In terms of environmental impact, Intrepid also excelled – and is proof positive that more sustainable travel needn’t come at a cost to the bottom line.
Comprising new and expanded carbon data, the report shows that the company nearly halved its greenhouse gas emissions from 51,486 tCO₂e in 2019 to 27,898 tCO₂e in 2022.
It is also urging other travel businesses to take greater accountability for their carbon emissions.
Last year, Intrepid raised nearly AU$700,000 via its not-for-profit The Intrepid Foundation, which aims to more than double its fundraising in 2023.
Elsewhere, it completed its majority acquisition of travel companies Wildland Trekking and JOOB, and entered into a 50 per cent partnership with low-impact accommodation provider CABN.
Intrepid’s Integrated Annual Report is a voluntary publication.
Earlier this month, Intrepid Travel launched its biggest global brand campaign yet, ‘Good Trips Only’.
