World’s largest adventure travel company doubles down on its investment in Sri Lanka, with 100% team growth, more recruitment and a new graduate program
Intrepid Travel, the world’s largest adventure travel company, plans to grow further in Sri Lanka, with its Colombo team already having doubled in just one year to become its largest globally with more than 230 staff and tour leaders.
This is a different approach to some other multinational corporations that have pulled back investment in the country due to the recent political and economic challenges.
Intrepid has also committed to further growth in Colombo, with an additional 30 roles being recruited in Sri Lanka this year. Intrepid Colombo’s Centre of Excellence supports the global company through a variety of roles, including engineering, technology architects, human resources, finance and customer service.
In a further commitment to Sri Lanka, Intrepid plans to launch a new paid graduate internship program in 2023. The Intrepid Colombo Future Leaders program will see 15 graduates working through a variety of departments over a six-month period.
In a show of confidence and commitment, Intrepid’s Australian-based CEO James Thornton and his Core Management Team, are currently visiting the country and meeting with the local team. Among the senior leadership is Colombo-based Chief Technology Officer Anu Karunatilaka and Managing Director Asia, Natalie Kidd. A media and industry briefing was held on 26th April at the BMICH.
“I’m thrilled to be back here in Sri Lanka to celebrate our team’s growth and achievements. Intrepid is proud to be one of Sri Lanka’s Best Places to Work, as well as a Best Place to Work for Women,” says Thornton.
Intrepid’s Country General Manager in Sri Lanka, Poornaka Delpachitra, added that the management team’s visit comes at an important time, with tourism gradually starting to recover from both the pandemic and the political crisis. “Intrepid is all about bringing people together and sharing different cultures and experiences, so I’m honoured to welcome our senior leadership here.
“Our team are excited to showcase Sri Lanka as a destination and what we have to offer. Everyone at Intrepid wants to see travellers once again exploring our beautiful country, so we can support more communities and create more tourism jobs,” adds Delpachitra.
Intrepid is a leader in climate-conscious travel options and it is innovating in Sri Lanka by trialing the use of electric vehicles. The company regularly uses EVs for airport transfers and successfully operated two fully electric-powered tours in 2022.
Additionally, the Intrepid Foundation has partnered with Zero Plastic to help drive behavioural change among Sri Lankan citizens to reduce plastic waste and support local entrepreneurs to produce plastic alternatives.
Intrepid’s growth in Sri Lanka has largely been driven by technology and other support roles, but as the world’s largest adventure company, it is also fully committed to rebuilding Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, including investment in international marketing campaigns.
Tourism is a significant economic driver for Sri Lanka, previously contributing 12 per cent to the country’s GDP and being the third largest foreign exchange earner.
Intrepid offers 12 different tours in Sri Lanka and welcomed about 3,500 customers to the island state in 2019.
Intrepid Travel is a world leader in sustainable experience-rich travel that has been taking travellers to discover the world’s most amazing places for more than 30 years. The company’s mission is to create positive change through the joy of travel. The company offers more than 1,150 trips on every continent and every is designed to truly experience local culture. With its own network of destination management companies in 28 countries, Intrepid has unique local expertise and perspectives. Globally renowned as a leader in responsible travel, in 2018 the carbon-neutral business became the world’s largest travel company to be certified B-Corp. Intrepid Travel is the first tour operator with near-term science-based climate targets through the Science Based Targets Initiative, and its not-for-profit, The Intrepid Foundation, has raised more than $12 million for more than 130 partners around the world.
