Sarah Clark is the embodiment of Intrepid Travel. If Intrepid was a person, we bet they, too, would leave an epic job, such as Global GM of Top Deck, to hit the road for a year, as that’s exactly what Sarah did to uncover her next chapter.
Over the course of an enriching year far away from emails and meetings, Sarah Clark sailed the Pacific Ocean, cycled Sri Lanka, surfed Portugal, dived the Blue hole, and hiked Madagascar.
Somewhere on this journey came the realisation that she had to work for a company that made a positive impact through travel.
There was only one answer. Intrepid.
We sat down with Sarah to talk about all things leadership in a new era of travel.
What’s happening in your business, and how does the forthcoming period look?
Travel is back, and we’re thrilled to be delivering our small group adventure travel experiences to customers across the globe.
We are laser-focused on priorities that will shape the future of Intrepid. We’re recruiting staff, booking customers, and increasing our brand presence in the market. We’re busily working with trade partners to deliver over 800 trips a month globally.
The top destinations for bookings out of Australia right now are South East Asia, Europe and Northern Africa. Of course, domestic travel across Australia with the NT, Kimberly, and Tasmania is also high on the list.
What are you excited about right now?
Welcoming our customers back! I recently returned from an Intrepid Premium trip in Mexico, and it was so inspiring to see people travelling again. Our customer reviews show the positive impact travel is having on people post-pandemic. I feel privileged to be a part of this.
Are there trends you are seeing that are driving change in Intrepid or the industry?
People are more conscious when they travel now. They want to understand their dollars and actions’ impact on the communities they visit. We also see more people on active trips, getting out into nature, and focusing on bucket list destinations.
During the pandemic, we took time to review our entire product range, dialling down the carbon emissions and dialling up the positive impact. As a result, our product range looks very different to pre-pandemic, as we move towards a low carbon future.
What are the biggest challenges for travel?
The biggest challenge in travel right now is the ongoing skills shortage. We lost over 40 per cent of our workforce during COVID, which is not dissimilar to other travel companies.
We can see this challenge really impacting airlines. The mix of illness and staff shortage is decreasing capacity and increasing air prices. Being an island nation, Australia relies on airlift, so we’re looking forward to more airlines returning, new routes being launched, and additional capacity returning.
What about the biggest opportunities?
Sustainable growth. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rewrite how we travel. People are more considered about their travel choices and the impact these have on both the environment and the communities in which they visit.
As an industry, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to create and deliver experiences that will drive change and shape the travel industry of the future.
How important is leadership right now? What should leadership look like?
Leadership is always important, and not just for the top down. We need leadership from all corners of the industry to continue to drive positive change and rebuild together.
As we move into a new phase of challenge and recovery, we need a clear focus, a calm approach, and a mindset focused on delivery.
What would you like to see change?
I would love to see travel be the number one industry that every young kid and every graduating student wants to be a part of. We need to return to being the dream industry to work in.
How key is collaboration in the industry?
The pandemic brought our industry to its knees, but the beauty of the Australian travel industry is the support network and the willingness to help each other.
Our focus now is on supporting the whole industry to rebuild stronger, smarter and more sustainable.
Do you think enough emphasis is being placed on sustainability in travel and addressing the climate crisis?
In short, no. While many companies are becoming more aware of the impact of their operations, a lot of industry efforts remain just surface-level.
Sometimes sustainability can feel like this vast, overwhelming concept, which is why we’re so passionate about empowering other tour operators and travel companies to take action by sharing our knowledge and resources.
In July 2020, we published a free downloadable 10-step guide to decarbonising travel and hosted 27 consultancy sessions with other travel businesses to share knowledge about carbon reduction.
It was great to see the positive response this garnered, and it really shows the power of collaboration in solving industry-wide problems.
What are your personal learnings from the pandemic?
- That a walk around the block, some fresh air and a clear mind can help fix any situation.
- People are key. Without good people, you can’t do a lot!
- Companies with a strong culture, trust and intelligent decision-making will reign
- That everyone should move to Tasmania
What is your message to the industry?
We may not be the industry that we were pre-covid, and we don’t want to be.
We have this incredible opportunity to recreate and redefine how we travel and what it means to work in this industry. Let’s not fall back into our old ways. Let’s move forward with clearer, better and more impactful thinking and decision-making.
You can find out more about Sarah or get in touch via LinkedIn
