Adventure travel firm Intrepid expects to bring 12,000 travellers to India

Leading adventure travel company Intrepid Travel expects to bring more than 12,000 customers to India in 2024, returning to its pre-pandemic numbers, its CEO James Thornton has said.

The company restarted operations in India in April 2022 and hopes to bring 8,000 customers to India in 2023.

Expanding existing product ranges, notably in the premium space, and introducing new styles of travel like wildlife-focused trips

will help its growth, Thornton told PTI in an interview.

According to him, the new e-visa scheme is a big step forward, resulting in a significant increase in number of visitors to India.

"By 2024, we expect to have returned to the inbound customer numbers we had pre-pandemic when we brought approximately 12,000 customers from Australia, Britain and North America to India. We expect to be able to reach 30,000 inbound customers a year by 2030," Intrepid Travel Managing Director Asia Natalie Kidd said.

Thornton said that globally, the adventure travel market is valued at approximately USD 300 billion and while data on the Indian market is not readily available in isolation, Intrepid's experience is that India is a top country in terms of customer volume.

"The size of India and variety of India means that inbound customers are best served through more organised tours than fully independent travel, which becomes an opportunity for job creation, particularly for those in guiding roles. For Intrepid, India is our 5th largest inbound destination after Vietnam, Morocco, Egypt and Peru," Kidd said.