Intrepid Travel hosts Global Summit in Colombo

Intrepid team at Global Summit event held in Sri Lanka

Intrepid Travel, the world’s largest adventure travel company, successfully hosted its largest and most impactful Global Summit event recently in Sri Lanka, bringing together 200 international team members, representing over 50 nationalities, alongside 300 local Sri Lankan team members, for a week of collaboration, connection and celebration.

This marks only the second time the company has hosted the event outside its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. Intrepid’s team in Colombo is its largest worldwide and they support significant travel operations in Sri Lanka as well as shared services for the global business. The summit is estimated to have injected more than Rs.50 million into the Sri Lankan economy.

The week-long gathering, including Intrepid’s board, co-founders and core management team, culminated in a full-day conference held at the BMICH, with 2,500+ additional office staff and leaders from across the globe being invited to tune in via livestream and locally hosted office events. Further, the week activated around Intrepid’s purpose commitments through championing in fundraising, community engagement and advocacy to reduce single-use plastic and promote recycling in collaboration with the Intrepid Foundation’s local partner, Zero Plastic Movement.

The Summit Day was structured around Intrepid’s new brand positioning and more than 45 speakers on stage, including tour leaders. It was emceed by two members of Intrepid’s global team recognised as ‘top talent’, Peru General Manager Fernando Rodriguez and local Sri Lankan-based Destination Product Manager Pramali Fernando.

Several key developments were announced, including, Intrepid will expand its global presence by opening new country offices, increasing from 28 to at least 33 within the next 12 months, with further expansions planned for 2027 and 2028. Intrepid chair Darrel Wade also revealed the company will pay dividends for the second consecutive year, supporting its staff shareholding scheme, which includes 555 staff shareholders across 12 countries, including Sri Lanka. Additionally, bonus payments and enhanced bonuses in the form of shares were announced for eligible staff.

CEO James Thornton praised the team for achieving all 2024 company goals.