As the year comes into full swing and travel begins to return itself to its former state, Intrepid has found itself inundated with travellers looking to explore the world (a good problem to have really).

And to give us all the goss on how Intrepid is handling this and what’s been popular, we decided to have a chat with the wholesaler’s GM of sales and partnerships Yvette Thompson. Thompson, who’s been with Intrepid on and off since 2007, caught up with us to shine a light on the brand’s skyrocketing Premium range, where her next trip is and, of course, how agents can cash in on Intrepid’s newest incentive.

Check out what Thompson’s got to say below.

You’ve seen Premium Japan skyrocket. What age demographic is purchasing these sort of holidays most?

The biggest demographic that we’ve seen travel since the world has reopened has been the 50-plus age bracket – particularly on our Premium trips. Our Premium range is not age specific and we are receiving bookings from all ages, but the core market is 50 to 70. But our demographic is more of a kind of traveller than an age. The Intrepid customer is curious, they are conscious, and they are seeking out connections when travelling.

Are you seeing that across all of the premium packages?

Yes we are. They are attracted to Intrepid’s sustainable, experience-rich style of travel, but love what our Premium style offers : a slower pace of travel, premium accommodation and more inclusions.

What’s another premium trip you’ve seen skyrocket and is there any you can expect to see boost in the future?

Premium Morocco in Depth and Premium Egypt & Jordan are two premium trips that have performed extraordinarily well throughout the whole year. Europe has been huge for us and we have seen several standouts: Premium Iceland, Premium Greece, Premium Portugal and Premium Sicily, to name a few.  We now have over 100 Premium trips and overall, they are selling really well as our customers are loving the style of travel. Intrepid Premium offers travellers the opportunity to travel sustainably, experience some exceptional, unique inclusions and stay in amazing, hand-picked accommodation.

Intrepid Travel Morocco (Source: Intrepid)

What advice do you have for travel agents who are looking to upsell to the Premium range?

I would say first and foremost, take a look at the range on our website, including our inclusions and accommodation. Every itinerary has a real ‘wow’ moment that you won’t be able to get if you’re travelling on your own or in any other way, shape or form. Every trip is carbon neutral, made up of a small group, offers free time and flexibility and really exquisite accommodation to make sure you get the best of a destination and your holiday.

We have a short Premium webinar on our Agent Hub that will help your product knowledge, as well as marketing assets for any agent who wants to promote the Premium range.

And for any agent who wants any further assistance, they can contact our team of Key Partnership Managers (KPMs) at partners@intrepidtravel.com who will be happy to help.

Do you have any incentives or agent deals coming up?

We do! This is good timing James as its big news – today we are launching an industry incentive and giving our agents the chance to win one of 15 European Intrepid trips. I am in Europe at the moment and it’s so exciting to be back here. We really want our agents to be able to experience Europe the Intrepid way  – in a small group, with a local leader and really getting to experience the country like a local. Agents can find out more about the incentive on our Agent Hub or by emailing the KPMs.

What do you think is the reason that agents or customers in general should book with intrepid over one of its competitors?

For me, first and foremost, it is that Intrepid is a B Corp. When you are travelling with Intrepid,  the B Corp stamp is proof to you of the work that we’re doing behind the scenes on behalf of our leaders and staff, on behalf of the communities we visit and on behalf of our travellers. This includes the work we are doing around climate change and carbon reduction, gender equality within our global business, investing in community based tourism, and ensuring we are a truly inclusive brand and business.

Intrepid’s Darrell Wade and Leigh Barnes at the brand’s global summit

Secondly, it is our local experience. We have been operating for over 30 years, and have 28 local DMCs around the world. These teams not only create our unique Intrepid small group adventures and FIT itineraries, but they provide local knowledge and service that is second to none.

Thirdly, our breadth of product means that once someone has travelled with us once, they keep coming back for more Intrepid experiences. We have over 1000 itineraries across all 7 continents, 4 different styles of travel from Basix to Premium, and a huge number of themes to suit many travel interests, from cycling and walking to food trips and family trips.

Where is your next Intrepid trip?

I am off to New Zealand in April to do our ‘Queenstown Southern Loop’. I love this part of New Zealand and I am excited to visit Stewart Island for the first time.