Good

Trips

Only:

How

Intrepid

Travel

Is

Scaling

Purpose

Without

Losing

Its

Soul

Good Trips Only: How Intrepid Travel Is Scaling Purpose Without Losing Its Soul

If you’d told a young Leigh Barnes—beer-drinking, fried-chicken-loving V6 revhead from suburban Melbourne—that he’d one day become the global Chief Customer Officer of a B Corp travel company… he probably would’ve asked you to pass the hot chips.

But that’s exactly where he’s ended up. After travel “punched him in the face” (his words) and reoriented his worldview, Leigh’s journey took him from backpacking through North Africa to leading brand and customer strategy at one of the most progressive travel companies on the planet: Intrepid Travel.

In this episode of The Mucky Middle, Leigh talks about purpose that performs, travel that transforms, and what it means to build a billion-dollar business that’s still got soul.

1. Sustainability Isn’t a Side Quest—It’s Survival

Leigh doesn’t sugarcoat it: without a healthy planet, there is no travel industry.

“If you can’t go to Everest because the ice shelf has melted, or the gorillas are gone from Rwanda, you don’t have a product.”

That brutal truth underpins everything Intrepid does. They're not just minimising impact—they’re designing travel experiences that leave the places they visit better off.

Intrepid’s been carbon neutral for over 15 years, is Climate Active certified, and is signed up to the UN science-based emissions targets. But they’re not just offsetting—they’re overhauling. That means fewer flights, more trains, local operators, and deeper community connections.

This isn’t virtue signalling. It’s business strategy in a warming world.

2. Your Product Still Has to Be Bloody Brilliant

One of Leigh’s strongest messages? Purpose alone doesn’t sell trips.

“Doing the right thing is no excuse not to have a brilliant product.”

Intrepid’s most recent brand platform, Good Trips Only, doesn’t just talk the purpose talk—it walks travellers through bucket-list adventures that also deliver ethical outcomes.

Whether it’s tea with a Berber family in Morocco, a First Nations experience in the NT, or a homestay in Lake Titicaca, Intrepid’s trips are designed to challenge, connect, and maybe even change you. But they’re also slick, seamless, and bucket-list worthy.

Purpose gets people talking. But the product gets them booking.

3. Friction Can Be a Feature

In an age of hyper-optimised, seamless everything, Leigh believes that friction has a role to play—at least during the trip.

“There’s a nature of serendipity we try to sprinkle in. Those surprise moments can transform people.”

Sure, the booking flow should be easy. But the magic of travel comes from the unscripted stuff—the cooking classes, the pub chats, the accidental book swaps. That’s where growth happens. That’s where prejudice shifts. That’s where Leigh once saw a customer go from identifying as racist to leaving a trip with an entirely changed perspective.

Not bad for a holiday.

4. B Corp Forces You to Prove It

Intrepid became a B Corp in 2018. For Leigh, it was a game-changer.

“We thought we were doing all the right stuff. But we couldn’t prove it.”

B Corp gave them structure and scrutiny. One example? Ethical marketing. Leigh assumed they were inclusive in their representation—until B Corp asked, “How do you know?” That prompted a full overhaul, including the launch of Intrepid’s Ethical Marketing Guidelines, covering everything from avoiding colonial language to ensuring visibility of people with disabilities.

It’s not about perfection—it’s about a framework for continuous progress. And Leigh wants more big businesses to join the tent.

5. Tough Calls Build Culture—and Brand Equity

Ten years ago, Intrepid banned elephant rides—30% of their Southeast Asia business at the time. It was risky. It was values-driven. And ultimately, it was a masterclass in long-game brand equity.

“Sometimes a principle is only a principle when it costs you something.”

Since then, Leigh’s team has made similar calls—cutting flights, changing suppliers, and designing for integrity, not convenience. He admits it’s not always easy, but that tension? That’s where culture and trust are forged.

And over time, it turns out customers reward you for doing the right thing—even if it’s uncomfortable.

6. Brand Drives Performance—When You Let It

Before the pandemic, Intrepid was spending 90% of their marketing budget on performance media. Then the bookings dried up, and only one thing kept the lights on: organic search.

“If you strip it all away—what are you? You’re just a brand.”

That sparked a shift. Leigh refreshed the visual identity, launched Travellers are Back for Good, and followed up with their first-ever global brand campaign in Times Square, London, Toronto and Melbourne.

The result? Record bookings. Record profit. More web traffic than competitors. And better results across performance metrics.

“The more brand work we do, the better our performance marketing becomes.”

7. Be Weird. Swing for the Fences.

Leigh’s leadership style is part philosopher, part locker room coach.

• He sends emails to random customers.
• He cries at the top of Mt Kinabalu.
• He believes marketing can (and should) swing big.

“Jay-Z said it best: I’d rather choke on greatness than nibble on mediocrity.”

His advice to marketers? Don’t hide behind purpose. Build a category-defining product first, then earn the right to talk about your values.

And as a leader? Be transparent, be human, be bold. Leigh’s open about his own struggles, invites dissent, and prioritises weird, ambitious ideas over consensus comfort.

TL;DR: Leigh Barnes' Blueprint for Building a Brand With Backbone

• Here’s your travel-sized summary:
• Sustainability must be baked in, not bolted on
• Brilliant products come before purpose messaging
• Friction (when well-placed) creates magic
• B Corp is your honesty mirror—embrace it
• Brand is not fluffy—it’s a performance multiplier
• Tough ethical calls build long-term trust
• Weirdness, transparency and swing-for-the-fences leadership win in the long run

Want to build a brand that’s purpose-driven and profit-ready?
At Paper Moose, we help companies create bold, behaviour-shifting campaigns that make a mark. Let’s talk.