TUI and Intrepid part ways
TUI Group and the founders of Intrepid Travel have called it a day on a strategic venture.
According to a statement, the two groups have ‘mutually agreed’ to end their PEAK Adventure Travel Group tie-up which was set up four years ago.
The venture, 60% owned by TUI and 40% by Intrepid, was set up in May 2011 and was designed to cut costs by at least £10 million a year within the first three years through economies of scale.
But the two groups will now part ways and Intrepid Travel co-founders Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester will take back full ownership of the brand.
Wade will continue as CEO alongside James Thornton, the first managing director of the Intrepid Group, which also includes Adventure Tours Australia, Geckos Adventures, Intrepid Travel, Peregrine Adventures, The Family Adventure Company, Urban Adventures plus the company’s group of destination management companies.
Explaining the decision, Wade said: "Over the last four years we’ve seen huge growth in the adventure travel sector globally. Whilst the formation of PEAK served all brands well at the time, we now recognise that we have different priorities and business philosophies.
"As a privately-owned travel company we will come out of this venture in a really exciting position. We’ve been observing emerging trends across the adventure travel sector globally, and now we can work quickly with our destination management companies and industry partners to grow the market for authentic local experiences that truly benefit both travellers and the places they visit."
He said Intrepid would continue to work closely with TUI in a number of areas ‘to ensure that it is business as usual for our industry partners’.
Meanwhile, TUI has created a new Adventure Specialist Division which will sit within its Specialist Group.
It will include a collection of ‘higher-end experiential’ brands, including Exodus, Headwater, TrekAmerica, Grand American Adventures and Sawadee, which previously operated under the PEAK umbrella.
Led by MD Hans Lagerweij, TUI said it will will focus on ‘innovating within the more specialist experiential holiday market to meet travellers’ increasingly adventurous demands’.
Lagerweij said: "The way people holiday continues to evolve. Looking at the way people enjoy adventure travel, it has become apparent that two increasingly distinct styles have emerged and that the appetite for more unique, higher-end and active experiences will only increase over the coming years.
"In order to best serve these markets and remain leaders within our fields we believe it is the right time to divide PEAK’s brands to concentrate on the adventure traveller’s changing needs."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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