EXCLUSIVE: Contiki refuses to rest on its laurels

Contiki is known for being the best youth travel operator in the business, but it’s not going to get slack now it’s at the top.

Chatting to Travel Weekly at the Contiki Legends party last night, global CEO Casper Urhammer and managing director Australia Katrina Barry said you can’t just rest on your laurels.

“What gets you there won’t keep you there,” Barry said.

“No two travellers are the same, so you have to listen to the customer and evolve with what they want.”

And proving the point that no king should ever take his crown for granted, Contiki last night announced the launch of eight new Eastern Europe trips, along with four new hot destinations: Iceland, Bosnia, Montenegro and Romania.

To mark another milestone birthday, Contiki threw one hell of a party, complete with Messina Gelato and the musical genius of Hot Dub Time Machine, with more than 400 of their closest friends, all about celebrating the legend of Contiki.

“You always have to be one step ahead,” Urhammer told Travel Weekly.

Urhammer mentioned the recent itinerary into Japan where “not a single seat was left” because the brand listened to what the customer wanted, and turned around and gave it to them.

But at the end of the day, it’s about execution, because travellers have high expectations of the company, higher, possibly, than a lot of other youth travel brands.

“If you go home thinking, ‘these guys really went above and beyond’, then that resonates,” Urhammer said.

“Our marketing is getting us out there, but our execution keeps us at the top.”

And Barry agrees, insisting that Contiki is renowned for being “famous, relevant and cool.”

“It’s so important to give them the time of their life,” she told TW. “Gen Y are really well travelled, and they want something different.”

“We’ve got what I call a 96% in love rate,” Barry added, suggesting travellers are pretty keen on Contiki.

“Social media is all about trust, and research shows you’re 18% more likely to trust a friend, and 92% more likely to trust someone you respect, who has expertise and relevance.”

Urhammer added that it all comes down to being innovative and relevant.

“We don’t want to reinvent the wheel, we just want to keep growing as best we can.”

But quizzed on a dream travel creation, Urhammer added, “Contiki tours to space – write that down!”

It’s safe to say, then, that there’s a lot more to see from the iconic brand yet.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Latest comments

Chris says:
September 11, 2015 at 6:53 pm
Good work to them, they know their market well. Passengers on Contiki get what they expect, a booze filled party trip with a tour guide to drag them around culture in the morning. This isn’t meant in a disparaging way – the passengers get delivered exactly what they want. It’s not for everyone but if you go on Contiki you know exactly what you’ll get and the people you’ll be with. They continue to strongly build on the reputation they’ve held for decades.
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George Hedley says:
September 10, 2015 at 1:28 pm
Really great article, Contiki have an amazing range of products and an audience that simply loves them, it’s hard to beat, at the travel company I work for http://www.events.com.au we’ve been trying to reach out to a younger audience with not much success. Maybe time to emulate what contiki are doing…
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@australia casper urhammer contiki contiki legends katrina barry