Intrepid Travel has collaborated with Jetstar to showcase Sri Lanka to Australian media and content creators travelling on a ground-breaking flight.
The flight marked the first direct connection between Melbourne and Colombo operated by an Australian airline.
The new service will operate three times a week, offering more than 100,000 low-fare seats between Australia and Sri Lanka each year.
Intrepid brought its deep local knowledge to the group, helping ANZ journalists and content creators experience the best of Sri Lanka once they landed.
The local team manages more than a dozen itineraries and hundreds of trips each year, meaning the same people looking after the media trip are drawing on years of experience creating and operating trips for Intrepid travellers.
Sri Lanka was Intrepid’s sixth most popular destination for Australasian travellers in 2025, with bookings growing almost 30% YOY. So far in 2026, it has climbed to fifth place, with bookings up 15% YOY.
“We’ve been operating in Sri Lanka for more than 14 years, so our local team knows the country incredibly well,” said Poornaka Delpachitra, General Manager Sri Lanka, Intrepid Travel.
“There’s so much more to Sri Lanka than the places you’ll find in a guidebook – it’s the people you meet, the food you eat and the experiences you have along the way that really bring it to life.
“That’s what we wanted to share with the media on this trip – a real taste of Sri Lanka, through the eyes of the people who know it best.”
Over the five day itinerary the group experienced some of the best of Sri Lanka’s wildlife, culture, food and communities, including wildlife safaris in national parks and a traditional pottery-making experience.
They also enjoyed a cooking demonstration and lunch with a local grandmother in a rural village, visits to historic sites and temples, and a visit to The Intrepid Foundation’s local NGO partner, Zero Plastic, at its Impact Centre.
