The adventure travel specialist operator said its aim was to grow “sustainable tourism beyond its borders” to multiple destinations in the region.
Peak Central America will house 12 operations staff and 70 tour leaders, with a further four operations staff based in a satellite office in Mexico City – currently the main point of arrival in Central America for more than 40% of travellers on Intrepid trips.
The destination management company will operate tours in all eight countries in the region as well as running multi-country, cross-border itineraries.
James Thornton, Intrepid Group chief executive opened the base in San José on Friday (November 24) as the latest addition to Intrepid’s network of DMCs.
Intrepid said it had chosen Costa Rica’s capital as its Central America base to capitalise on the country’s extensive eco-tourism experience and commitment to the environment.
Costa Rica produced 98% of its electricity without fossil fuels last year.
Thornton said: “Costa Rica has been a guiding light for ecotourism in Central America and that experience is more important now than it’s ever been.
“There is a huge appetite for sustainable travel globally and enormous potential to develop product from Costa Rica throughout Central America.”
Bradley John-Davis, general manager of Peak Central America was appointed to the new role because of his previous experience in Latin America and his involvement in running cross-border trips as general manager for Peak East Africa.
He said: “Central America is incredibly diverse, but traditionally travellers flock to just a few places while the rest of the region is made up of some of the world’s least visited destinations. That’s starting to change, with countries like Belize and Panama becoming increasingly popular among travellers.
“Travelling across borders through multiple-countries is the best way to experience the incredibly different landscapes and cultures of Central America and that’s what’s most exciting about this: we’re now able to create innovative new itineraries that show travellers both the iconic sites and some of the hidden places in the same trip.”
The new base opens three months after an office in Japan with Iceland named as the location for Intrepid’s 20th destination management company next year.
The operator’s first destination management company opened in Vietnam in 2005.
