Intrepid Travel, a leading name in adventure travel tours, has recently announced its most significant acquisition to date. The Melbourne-based tour operator has acquired Sawadee Reizen, a Dutch tour operator, from Travelopia. This strategic move is set to dramatically enhance Intrepid’s presence in non-English speaking markets and accelerate its ambitious global growth strategy in the competitive market of travel tours.
This acquisition is projected to bring 20,000 new customers into the Intrepid fold and boost annual revenue by an impressive AUS $100 million. For a company already renowned for its Intrepid Travel Tours, this represents a major leap forward. Speaking to Skift, Intrepid CEO James Thornton highlighted the significance of this deal. “It just gives us greater size and scale, and for the first time, really gives us exposure to non-English speaking markets,” Thornton explained. He further noted that the Netherlands is poised to become Intrepid’s fourth-largest source market, underscoring the strategic importance of this expansion beyond their traditional English-speaking strongholds of the UK, U.S., and Australia for their range of intrepid travel tours.
Sawadee Reizen, now part of the Intrepid Travel family, is the second-largest tour operator in the Netherlands, making this acquisition more than double the size of Intrepid’s previous largest acquisition, Wildland Trekking, in 2022. The opportunity arose when Travelopia decided to divest several of its brands, presenting Intrepid with a timely chance to expand its reach in the European market for adventure travel tours. Both Intrepid and Sawadee were already performing strongly financially in 2024, and the acquisition is built upon what both companies describe as a strong cultural alignment, suggesting a smooth integration and shared vision for the future of travel tours.
A New European Strategy for Intrepid’s Adventure Travel Tours
Looking ahead, Intrepid is actively pursuing further acquisitions of native language tour operators across Europe. This acquisition signals a strategic pivot towards deeper European market penetration. “I think what you’ll see is we’ll place a lot more focus on distribution in Europe, rather than just the traditional English-speaking market,” Thornton stated. With the Netherlands now firmly in place, Intrepid is considering similar opportunities to attract travelers from France, Belgium, and Scandinavia, further diversifying their customer base for their intrepid travel tours. The potential expansion into Belgium is particularly noteworthy, given the linguistic connection between the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium and the Netherlands, suggesting a synergistic regional growth opportunity for Intrepid’s European travel tours.
This European expansion is integral to Intrepid’s ambitious goal of becoming a AUS $1 billion company by 2030. In 2024, Intrepid Travel’s turnover grew by almost 16% to AUS $630 million, with profits around AUS $38 million. Thornton emphasizes both organic growth and strategic acquisitions as key drivers to reach this milestone. “We’re growing organically at about 18% compound annual growth rate… We’ve just added 100 million in terms of revenue now from Sawadee over the next two to three years. I’m very hopeful that we can get to the billion-dollar mark. And a billion dollars is just important because of the kind of size and scale, and ability to have greater influence,” he explained. While Intrepid is already the world’s largest adventure tour operator, achieving this scale will allow them to compete more effectively with larger travel conglomerates and further enhance their offerings in intrepid travel tours.
Integrating Operations and Maintaining Brand Identity
Currently, Sawadee Reizen utilizes Intrepid’s destination management company (DMC) network for approximately 27% of its tours. This is expected to increase significantly, with Thornton anticipating that Sawadee will leverage Intrepid’s DMC network for at least 50% of its tours by 2026. This integration will streamline operations and potentially lead to changes in Sawadee’s existing DMC partnerships. However, the relationship between Intrepid and Sawadee is not entirely new. Both companies were previously under the TUI Group umbrella, fostering a degree of familiarity and potentially easing the integration process. Importantly, Thornton clarified that Intrepid and Sawadee are not direct competitors, as Intrepid’s existing business in the Netherlands caters to English-speaking tours, while Sawadee focuses on Dutch-language travel tours.
Key figures behind the Intrepid travel tours expansion: (From left) Intrepid CEO James Thornton, Sawadee Managing Director Berend Simons, and Intrepid Managing Director EMEA Zina Bencheikh, showcasing their collaboration to broaden the reach of intrepid travel tours. Source: Intrepid.
Acknowledging the complexities of mergers, Thornton admitted that Intrepid’s past acquisitions have had varied success rates, but emphasized that their approach to integration has improved over time. The immediate plan is to retain the Sawadee Reizen brand to capitalize on its strong recognition in the Dutch market. Intrepid intends to carefully study the Dutch market, noting its price sensitivity compared to markets like Australia, the UK, and the U.S., before considering any brand consolidation. For the time being, it’s “business as usual” for Sawadee’s 180-person global team, with Managing Director Berend Simons continuing to lead the brand and reporting to Intrepid Managing Director EMEA Zina Bencheikh. Simons expressed enthusiasm for this new chapter, stating, “Our leading position in the Dutch market, coupled with Intrepid’s global expertise, means we will continue to deliver amazing trips for our customers and create impact for the communities we visit.” Furthermore, Sawadee will embark on the journey to become a B Corp, mirroring Intrepid’s commitment to responsible and sustainable travel tours since 2018.
In conclusion, Intrepid Travel’s acquisition of Sawadee Reizen marks a pivotal moment in its growth trajectory. This strategic move not only significantly expands Intrepid’s market reach into Europe but also reinforces its commitment to offering diverse and intrepid travel tours to a global audience. By leveraging Sawadee’s market presence and integrating operations, Intrepid is poised to solidify its position as a leader in the adventure travel industry and continue to innovate and expand its portfolio of exceptional travel experiences.
