SUDIPTA DEV – Mumbai
For the last five decades Contiki Holidays has been taking travellers between 18 to 35 years of age to destinations around the world. Since the last one year the world’s leading youth travel operator has been working closely with its travel partners, Travel Air Representations and Ezeego1 in India to promote the brand and tours to young travellers in the country. “We have seen a great response from Indian young travellers. They are very receptive to Contiki as we provide them an alternative way of travelling style and experience and we saw a significant growth in terms of people signing up on our tours,” said Kevin Khor, head of sales and marketing, Asia, Contiki Holidays.
Contiki offers over 190 itineraries throughout Europe, Russia, Egypt, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada and the USA for travellers to choose from, depending on their budget, time and travel style. The trips are hassle-free and include a mix of sightseeing, culture and free time. “We will continue to promote Contiki in India as the potential is very huge in this market and we are just starting to penetrate the market. In the years to come, we plan to grow the India market to become one of our top five markets from Asia, bringing Indian young travellers to every corner of the world,” stated Khor.
Currently the focus is on promoting Europe as a destination as it is the most popular choice among young travellers. “Our 13D Greek Island Hopping is the most popular tour among our Indian travellers, where this easy pace tour will give them a lot of free time in Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Ios,” mentioned Khor, adding that, the other options are USA and Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. In years to come, he expects Latin America to become one of the top destinations.
Reminding that travellers are becoming more savvy in terms of planning their holiday, Khor stated that Contiki has been trying to constantly understand the trends and needs of young travellers, “Hence, our value-add services have also changed from time to time, where we no longer are offering them just a holiday tour, but their very own travel story that lives with them forever.” Contiki has also introduced its mobile app, Shout and The Exchange, which is its online community as platforms for travellers to communicate, stay in touch and get to know each other before they start their tour.
