"They call me the boomerang" — Wolters is back at Intrepid Travel

Christian Wolters’ tourism industry career has come full circle, with the Toronto-based Wolters returning to head Intrepid Travel’s Canadian operation after a 9-year hiatus from the Melbourne, Australia-based adventure travel company.

Wolters is now serving as both president of Intrepid’s Canadian operation and its marketing general manager for the Americas.

Wolters was with Intrepid’s Toronto office from 2008 to 2015, but then left to take a position with Vienna-based TourRadar, leaving that travel industry company recently after being invited to return to Intrepid by its management.

“They call me the boomerang,” he says of Intrepid colleagues, who compare him to the Australian device designed to return to the site from which it was tossed.

And Wolters says he’s returned to a company that’s continuing to make major inroads in international tourism, with Intrepid offering clients over 100 countries and every continent and looking to earn AUS$1.3 billion in annual revenue before the turn of the decade.

Indeed, he says Intrepid — started decades ago by Australian entrepreneurs Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester — is now the world’s largest tour operator in terms of small group adventure travel, and the company is predicting further growth, with Wolters confident that some of that growth will be in this country. But he doesn’t plan any dramatic developments.

“I don’t see any massive changes,” he adds of his return to the Canadian office. “I think it’s really about building up the foundation that was already created and taking it to the next level.”

Wolters plans to use his ties with the travel agency community to help spur that growth, adding he remained in contact with agents during his TourRadar tenure.

Heightened international concerns about the planet should serve Intrepid well, Wolters says, adding Intrepid is committed to sustainable travel. In 2010, Intrepid became carbon neutral. “Back then we had to measure the carbon emissions from each tour and finally offset them,” Wolters reports. “We realized that this was just the beginning and since that time we have committed to over 14 climate goals. By 2023 we were halfway through these goals.”

A few highlights are:

• 10 purpose-led advocacy initiatives
• Sri Lanka’s Zero plastic walk,  representing the largest environmental cleanup in the country’s history
• First global tour operator to introduce science-based emissions reduction targets by applying for a Net Zero target. This is a critical next step in our decarbonization journey.

Wolters says Intrepid tours are designed to be non-intrusive, with clients likely travelling in groups of 12 to 15 people, perhaps using public transit during their itineraries and staying in locally owned accommodations, rather than foreign-owned chain hotels.

The company also uses local guides that are intimately familiar with an area’s culture and speak the language.

“We really try to get you connected to the country you’re visiting and we want to give back locally,” Wolters states. “We are guests in their country. That’s the attitude Intrepid has.”

The company’s Intrepid Foundation helps fund different charities and self-help groups in countries it visits, with foundation partners including Water First, which works to provide Indigenous communities in this country with clean water.

Meanwhile, Wolters says he’s upbeat about the future of Intrepid and being part of that future.

“I’m just excited to be on this incredible journey now and get to work on the next chapter of Intrepid,” he adds.