Intrepid Emphasizes Young Adult Travel, Expands Age Range to 18-35

Intrepid is emphasizing young adult travel by expanding the age range and offering the popular group new, curated tour options. 

The tour operator previously set its young adult travel groups at ages 18 to 29 but has just expanded the age range up to 35. The company now offers more than 50 small-group tours across the globe for 18- to 35-year-olds. 

“We had direct feedback and inquiries from early 30s travelers asking if they could join these groups. This has been going on for several years,” Matt Berna, president of the Americas at Intrepid, told TMR. “The trips are slightly different from our standard trips, including more free time and more value for their money.” 

Travelers in their mid-20s were Intrepid’s most popular age group for many years, Berna explained. But that group has now aged into their early 30s, and the tour operator now sees that most customers are around 30 to 33 years old (“before families and mortgages,” Berna said) or in the 65+ category. 

After years of folks in their 30s asking to join the young adult group tours, Intrepid embarked on a year-long process of surveying both current and prospective customers in their 20s and 30s about their travel habits and how they felt about changing the age range to include folks ages 30 to 35. 

Intrepid found that people in their 20s and early 30s have the same travel interests and want to travel with each other. The majority of Intrepid’s customers are solo travelers, and about 65% are women, so having an 18-to-35s small group option brings security that a traveler won’t be the only young woman in a group of retirees, for example. 

“Especially with solo travelers, there is the worry that they will not be put into the right group for them, or it won’t be the right experience,” Berna explained. 

Intrepid also found that their young adult customers want active experiences, value for money, and unique connections on their trips. This year, Intrepid has added 15 new tours to its list of more than 50 options for 18-to-35-year-olds. 

Active experiences 
Trips such as the 15-day Epic Everest Base Camp Trek or the eight-day One Week in Costa Rica offer active experiences in nature for young adults. The max group size for these trips is 16 people. Young travelers are “there to be in this group environment and be more adventurous,” Berna noted, making trips like these ideal for the age range.  

During the Everest Base Camp Trek, travelers hike the world’s most famous mountain, visit the National Park Museum and the Thyangboche Monastery, and embark on a sunrise walk on the final day. For the Costa Rica trip, there are opportunities for hikes, bicycling, cooking classes, and more.  

Intrepid’s young adult trips tend to have fewer inclusions and more add-ons, giving travelers flexibility to venture out in their own free time if they choose. 

Value for money 
To give young travelers more value for their money, Intrepid offers shared basic accommodations that place two travelers of the same gender in one room. Travelers can pay an additional fee if they do not wish to share a room.  

Intrepid also offers more value – and authenticity – to its young adult trips by including home stays and homecooked meals within the destination, as well as utilizing public transportation and overnight trains, such as on its Essential Vietnam trip. 

Unique connections  
“Young adult travelers are looking for meaningful connections. They’re not as concerned or looking for big party trips or touristy experiences,” Berna said. “They want spontaneity, and they want to feel their trip was truly unique.” 

To give this genuine experience to its travelers, Intrepid has local guides leading each of its tours, such as on its Essential South Korea trip. Much of it is walking tours led by a local leader covering an array of pop culture, cuisine, nature, and more. South Korea is an especially popular destination for young people right now, with the rise of K-Pop and K dramas in the West.