Intrepid sees travel market turn for better

For travel sector, the good news isn’t supposed to come until sometime next year, at best. Intrepid Travel, though, the market’s already headed in the right direction. The adventure tour operator posted sales growth of more than 30 percent over the past three months. March was up 38 percent from March 2008, with April up 57 percent year over year, so far. It may not be indicative of a broad shift in U.S. travel spending, but it’s certainly great news for Intrepid.

Europe is a top destination for Americans buying through Intrepid: sales to the region are up 625 percent year over year. Egypt is also a hot spot, boasting a year-over-year sales gain of 425 percent in February and March. And, the World Cup has pushed a sales increase of 217 percent for February and March year over year.

“We are certainly thrilled with these results. Travelers are feeling more confident about the economy and they are celebrating the ideal way – by going an adventure that will provide holiday memories to last a lifetime,” said Intrepid Travel North America General Manager, Matt Berna.