Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester hoped to start a little business that gave them an excuse to keep travelling.

But the little enterprise they called Intrepid Travel is now a multimillion dollar company aiming for an initial public offering in a couple of years.

“We are setting up our company to do a float,” Mr Manchester said.

Intrepid fills what is a growing niche for adventure travel. Want to trek to gorillas in Uganda, or climb up Mt Everest? Intrepid may be able to help you out.

It undertook about 10,000 trips last year, and the number is growing fast.

In its 21st year, the company founders have high hopes for the share float after last year posting a pre-tax profit of about $10 million and turnover of $120 million.

The company has spread out from its Asian focus in the past few years so that its tours are not concentrated in one region.

That lowers the risk of being exposed to a particular area in the event of a political or natural disaster that could unsettle travellers.

Intrepid now employs about 1000 staff and has offices in 25 countries.

“If there is a trouble spot somewhere, we can be somewhere else and we can shift demand and moderate out the cash,” Mr Wade said.

They say being an adventure travel operator has advantages, because clients aren’t so picky if something minor goes wrong.

“They buy an adventure holiday, so they don’t necessarily expect it to be as smooth as silk,” he said.

(Source: TheAustralian.com.au)