Zina Bencheikh, who has worked for the company since 2010, will take up her role as managing director of Intrepid’s EMEA region in early May and will be based in London.
“I am excited to work with industry partners to keep growing this market segment,” she told TTG. “I’m 100% dedicated to getting to know more of them and work with them.
“A big part of the growth strategy is to grow through industry partners and that’s definitely the case in the UK.
“I’m very excited about my new role and excited to lead this team – I can’t wait to start.
"I’m very passionate about the product and we definitely see a trend in the UK towards wanting our type of product. British people are adventurous and eco-conscious travellers.”
Bencheikh said she could not talk about her specific plans or priorities until she starts in the new role this spring.
Intrepid’s chief commercial officer Brett Mitchell confirmed there would be more investment in working with agents “than ever before” in the region.
“What’s been driving growth has been industry partners,” he added. “The trade is a very strong channel for us and we will invest more than ever before in engaging with them.
“We’re building our skillset within the industry with more marketing tools to raise awareness of our style of travel. We will be working more innovatively to educate and grow the market.”
Mitchell added that it was seeing significant growth in bookings in the over-55s market – up by 20% over the past 18 months for Intrepid.
“The 55-plus demographic are more active than ever before,” he explained. “They are also healthier and generally have got a bit of money – and they want to spend it on experiences rather than things.”
