The Melbourne-based travel group has been steadily scaling up after spending $5.1m last year on Wild Bush Luxury, which included the Bamurru Plains safari camp in the Northern Territory.
Altai now joins that portfolio, adding more than A$100m in revenue and around 35,000 customers each year to Intrepid’s global operation.
Those extra bookings take the company significantly closer to surpassing A$1bn in annual tour sales, a key benchmark in the sector.
The latest move reinforces its strategy of using targeted acquisitions rather than relying solely on organic growth.
Altai gives Intrepid a foothold in France, a market the company views as difficult to crack from scratch because of language, distribution and local brand loyalties.
Intrepid bought Altai from an investment vehicle linked to one of its major shareholders, who also sits on its board.
The purchase price remains confidential, reflecting the private nature of the deal between related parties.
That shareholder also chairs global sporting goods retailer Decathlon, highlighting the cross‑over between outdoor retail and adventure travel.
The French deal builds on Intrepid’s expansion into non‑English-speaking markets which recently included the acquisition of Dutch operator Sawadee Reizen.
Management now targets further growth in countries such as Germany and across Scandinavia where demand for sustainable and adventure travel keeps rising.
By layering European brands onto its existing portfolio, Intrepid is building a diversified network that spans Australia’s outback camps through to specialist European tour operators.
How smoothly it integrates these businesses, and how effectively it leverages cross‑border customer flows, will be the key test for its billion-dollar ambitions.
