“Let’s be honest,” says James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Travel. “The travel industry has lied to people for decades.”
It’s a sharp opening to a conversation about sustainability. But it cuts to the heart of what makes Intrepid unique.
Thornton isn’t trying to posture. He’s not gesturing vaguely at “eco-consciousness” or recycling platitudes a
bout purpose. He’s naming something travel leaders often leave unsaid: that an industry built on experiences and inspiration has too often trafficked in fantasy—selling travelers a clean conscience while ignoring the messy reality on the ground.
“People want to believe their trip is sustainable because they stayed in a tented camp or skipped the plastic straw,” he says. “But if you’ve flown 12,000 kilometers to get there, stayed in a luxury resort with poor labor conditions, and left without understanding anything about the community you visited—can you really say your footprint was light?”
Thornton isn’t just critiquing the system. He’s working to change it from within—brick by brick, policy by policy, truth by truth.
A Business Built to Challenge the Status Quo
As CEO of the world’s largest certified B Corp travel company, Thornton is leading a brand that sees its role not just as a tour operator but as a systems challenger. Intrepid Travel operates in more than 120 countries with over 2,300 local leaders and a sharp focus on people, planet, and profit—with equal weight.
But Thornton’s leadership isn’t just about the credentials. It’s about culture.
“We don’t have to guess who we are,” he says. “We’ve got our values written on the walls—and everyone here can tell you what they are.”
It’s that clarity that allows Intrepid to lead on issues others avoid. The company has canceled tours to politically unstable regions, pulled out of markets where labor standards couldn’t be guaranteed, and pioneered climate transparency before it was fashionable.
In 2020, Intrepid became the first tour operator to set verified science-based climate targets aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. In 2021, it began producing an annual, third-party audited impact report. “We put all our data out there,” Thornton says. “Because if we say we’re doing this for the right reasons, then we have to be willing to be scrutinized.”
Telling the Hard Truth, Not Selling Fantasy
While many travel brands are still marketing escapism, Intrepid’s message often leans into uncomfortable truths. “We need to stop pretending travel doesn’t have a cost,” Thornton says. “It does—social, environmental, and economic. The point isn’t to eliminate that. It’s to be accountable for it.”
This unvarnished approach hasn’t always been welcomed. “We’ve lost customers because we don’t sugarcoat things,” he admits. “We’ve had agencies come in saying, ‘Can’t we just make this sound a bit more fun?’ And we’ve said no. Because what’s the point of all of this if we can’t be honest?”
Still, he believes most travelers are ready for a shift. “People are waking up,” he says. “They’re starting to ask, ‘Who benefits from this trip? Where does my money actually go?’ We have a responsibility to meet that moment.”
That sense of urgency has only grown in recent years. As climate impacts become harder to ignore and communities push back against over-tourism, Intrepid sees its role not as reactive, but as proactive.
“There’s no future for travel if we don’t get this right,” Thornton warns. “And that’s not an exaggeration. That’s just physics and justice.”
The Economics of Doing the Right Thing
One of the most common critiques of sustainable business is cost—especially in an industry with tight margins and high fixed expenses. But Thornton is adamant that purpose and profit are not mutually exclusive.
“We’re a commercial business,” he says. “We’ve got shareholders. We’ve got growth targets. But the way we get there is by being transparent, by investing in communities, and by earning trust—not by greenwashing.”
This means saying no to easy wins. It means refusing to underpay guides, declining to run wildlife tours that exploit animals, and skipping the over-trafficked Instagram spots in favor of locally owned alternatives.
Does that limit growth?
“Not at all,” he says. “In fact, it’s the reason we’ve grown. Because we’re building something customers believe in.”
And investors, too. In 2021, French private equity firm Genairgy became a strategic partner in Intrepid. But unlike many investment stories, this one didn’t lead to a dilution of values. “They backed us precisely because of our purpose,” says Thornton. “They saw that this is where the world is going.”
Climate Action Without Compromise
While other travel companies flirt with net-zero targets for 2050, Intrepid has already cut 1,000 tons of carbon from its operations and removed flights under 90 minutes from itineraries in places like Europe.
“Look, aviation is the elephant in the room,” Thornton says. “We can’t just pretend it’s not a problem because we don’t have a perfect solution. We’ve got to reduce where we can and push for regulation that applies to everyone.”
That’s why Intrepid has been lobbying for mandatory emissions disclosure across the industry—despite knowing it would expose its own operational challenges.
“This isn’t about looking virtuous,” he says. “It’s about being part of a real solution. And we’re not going to get there if everyone keeps hiding behind vague pledges and slick language.”
Designing for Impact, Not Just Adventure
At the heart of Intrepid’s model is a commitment to community. All group leaders are local. Accommodation is chosen for impact. Experiences are designed in collaboration with people on the ground—not as flyby philanthropy, but as part of a long-term commitment.
“Too often, tourism extracts value,” Thornton says. “We’re trying to create it.”
The company’s nonprofit arm, The Intrepid Foundation, raised over $3 million last year for local organizations tackling everything from gender equity to disaster relief. Their tours also directly contribute to those same causes—with travelers invited to participate, learn, and give back in meaningful ways.
That’s not just good ethics—it’s good design.
“We’re not trying to turn travel into a guilt trip,” he says. “We’re trying to deepen the experience. We want people to come home with more than photos—we want them to come home with perspective.”
A Vision for What Comes Next
So where does Thornton want to take Intrepid next?
“The goal is to be the best travel company for the world—not the biggest,” he says. “We want to grow, of course. But growth for us is measured in impact. How many lives are improved? How much carbon have we avoided? How many travelers are going home changed?”
He’s also calling for collaboration. “This isn’t something we can fix alone. We need the airlines. We need governments. We need our competitors. Everyone has a role to play.”
That includes consumers. Thornton believes the biggest shift will come when travelers stop seeing sustainability as a tradeoff and start seeing it as part of the adventure.
“We’re not perfect,” he says again, with characteristic candor. “But we’re trying. And we’ll keep trying. Because if travel is going to be part of the future, it must be part of the solution.”