Intrepid shows the way with record sales
MELBOURNE – Intrepid Travel has started the final quarter of the 2008/09 financial year strongly, recording its best April sales result in its 20 year history.
Strong interest in its trips to Australia, Latin America, Egypt and Morocco means it expects to end the financial year with 11 percent sales growth on last year.
“We recorded our strongest sales month ever in September but by the end of October sales were down. We quickly put a plan in place, working with our employees to implement cost-saving measures and our hotel and transport suppliers to reduce prices.
“This meant we could offer a series of excellent promotions, to activate sales,” said CEO and co-founder, Darrell Wade.
“I think being free of the constraints often associated with corporate ownership meant that we could act quickly to protect ourselves from the downturn.
“Our plan was in place by the end of November and we’re now confident that we’ll ride out the downturn.”
Wade also said that Intrepid Travel’s efforts over the last five years to diversify its product range were paying off, with recent troubles in Thailand and the swine flu outbreak in Mexico having little impact on its ability to record overall sales growth.
“We made a conscious decision after SARS to develop a global range of products, therefore protecting ourselves from unforseen events in the countries that we visit.
“We now travel to six out of seven continents so we have the flexibility to switch our marketing and sales efforts from destination to destination if things start to get tough in one part of the world,” he said.
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Airbnb eyes a loyalty program but details remain under wraps
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026