The best folk to show you the heart of a destination are the ones that live there, which is why we work exclusively with local leaders. Our leaders are not only just travel experts, they’re your teacher, travel guru and enthusiastic purveyor of grassroots experiences. They’ll just as easily steer you through the laneways of Marrakech in Morocco as help you strike up a conversation with the locals – and all with a smile. 

Why travel with a local leader?

Meet your local leaders

 

Hear what our leaders have to say

While we can talk under water about the benefits of travelling with a local leader, we think its best to hear it from them in their own words. Here's what a few of our friendly leaders have to say.

Ernesto

Yamila

Sana, an Intrepid leader

Moving towards equality

At Intrepid, we know that our greatest strength lies in our diversity. This is why we strive to promote equality and inclusiveness at every level of our business – whether it’s staff treading the boards at Head Office or a guide leading a group through the back streets of Tokyo. When we first set a goal to double our number of female leaders back in 2017, we only had 154 female leaders around the world. In 2019, we were proud to reach our goal and by the start of 2020 we were working with 342 female leaders, globally. It’s an exciting challenge spanning many countries and cultures, but it's all part of an ongoing effort to promote gender equality and women's independence. 

Read more about our female leaders

How we're giving back

When you think about it, working together with local people makes a lot of sense. Not only does it create work opportunities, it also ensures we respect local cultures and support local economies. Tourism is a large source of income for many countries – and we strive to help locals make the most of that.

 

'I love this job because I can support my family without needing to go abroad. I also love to see people from different parts of the world. Tourism is developing in Myanmar and this is good for the economy. I think Intrepid is great because of our responsible tourism. We are always reducing the risk of negative impacts and the money is always going back to the local people.' – Joseph, Myanmar

The Intrepid Foundation

While working with local leaders is a major cornerstone of our business, we believe there’s always more we can do. That’s why we established The Intrepid Foundation. The Foundation works with more than 70 grassroots projects from around the world, supporting initiatives in healthcare, education, gender equality, sustainability and human rights.

These are just a few of the organisations The Intrepid Foundation proudly supports:

The Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP)

 

The Intrepid Foundation supports the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project.

KPAP is a local organisation in Tanzania that supports porters working on Mt Kilimanjaro. Unfortunately there are porters in the industry who work for reduced pay and in poor conditions, often without adequate clothing or equipment. With the assistance of The Intrepid Foundation, KPAP is able to support Kilimanjaro porters by providing advocacy and education. KPAP also works with the travel industry to maintain safe climbing practices for hardworking porters.

You can find out more about KPAP or make a donation by clicking here.

 

 

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