Intrepid Travel appoints CMO to fuel growth after record year

Intrepid Travel’s new chief marketing officer Hazel McGuire will be tasked with fuelling the experienced-based travel brand’s growth trajectory following a record year.

Intrepid appoint new CMO as the travel business readies for further growth

Intrepid Travel has appointed Hazel McGuire as chief marketing officer as the business prepares to report its strongest year to date for revenue and growth.

Ms McGuire is currently UK general manager of sales and marketing at Intrepid and will assume the new role in April. She will be responsible for global marketing and growth strategy, replacing Leigh Barnes, who was promoted to president of the Americas.

Her appointment comes as the Melbourne-based travel company prepares to report its biggest year for revenue, following a “pivotal” shift in strategy which saw the business increase its investment in brand marketing activity alongside its ongoing investment in digital performance-based marketing.

As revealed in The Growth Agenda last year, Intrepid drove a 68 per cent increase in bookings and a 41 per cent increase in online revenues by adopting a 50/50 split of brand and performance marketing.

Intrepid Travel’s new chief marketing officer Hazel McGuire will assume the role on 1 April 2025.

“We’ve seen growth that has outperformed the industry, and that is fundamentally because we are looking at that brand and performance split,” Ms McGuire said. “Having those big brand moments and putting the brand in front of people in a non-digital way when they’ve got a little bit more time to look — I don’t think you can underestimate the power of those big, bold moments in out of home, cinema or TV. We’ve set ourselves up for a very good 2025. We’ve had a strong start to the year across all our global markets. The UK has had its biggest-ever January and Australia has surpassed where we expected it to be by quite some margin.”

The growth puts the company on track to reach its ambition to become a $1bn business by 2030.

The business has been at the centre of a post-pandemic trend for consumers to seek sustainable, authentic travel experiences.

“We’re seeing entire categories shift as people seek out small group adventures,” Ms McGuire said.

“People are looking to spend money on those experiences rather than things. People want to invest in that experience rather than a physical item.”

In a bid to maximise this growth area, Ms McGuire’s remit will expand to include experiences, alongside the brand, PR, communications and customer portfolios.

“Our product is one of our biggest opportunities to share our story with customers and have them understand who we are and what we do,” she said.

“We know that when customers come back from experiencing our product, they are our biggest advocates.

“They understand how we embed responsible community tourism, elements of purpose and impact throughout our products. Their word-of-mouth advocacy is very important.”

Customer advocacy has also been a crucial component to maintaining the brand’s growth trajectory during the cost-of-living crisis to ensure people continue to prioritise travel.

“People are more likely to ring-fence finances for travel,” said Ms McGuire. “People will maybe forgo one or two little luxuries, like having a meal out, in order that they can still have that travel experience and that holiday.

“We are mindful that people are still finding the cost of living a challenge and we’ve positioned ourselves as a really great option to get away and make the most of your holiday. If you’re going to have one holiday in a year, you want to make sure that you have a great one.”

Intrepid announced its largest acquisition to date last month, acquiring Dutch tour operator Sawadee Reizen. The acquisition significantly increases Intrepid’s footprint in the European travel market, providing access to another 20,000 customers a year and adding $100m in annual turnover.

It is the latest in a string of acquisitions by the company, which has also acquired the Bungle Bungle Camp in WA and a boutique eco lodge in the Daintree in recent years as it expands its accommodation portfolio to capitalise on unique travel experiences. .

Intrepid Travel had a strong rebound from the pandemic reporting a record net profit of $22m for the 2023 year (after a $26m loss in 2022), on the back of a 113 per cent increase in revenue to $536m.