Contiki will refocus its brand around the post-pandemic travel ambitions of millennials and Gen Z, placing the emphasis on reconnecting them with like-minded peers around the world.
The rebrand will reflect the youth specialist’s journey to carbon neutrality and its take on sustainability, Contiki Green, with the complete vision bound by a new "Travel. Together." philosophy and mission statement.
After nearly two years of Covid travel barriers, Contiki said the brand refresh aimed to portray a brighter future and unleash a "bottled-up desire for authentic human connections".
“During these strange times, we took some time to really understand what our travellers will want when the so-called ’new-normal’ arrives” said Contiki chief marketing officer Simon Llanos.
“We thought about our position and how we communicate social travel, something the world has dearly missed. We focused on the things that are uniquely us: sharing incredible experiences with brilliant people and a sense of fun, humour and community.
"The evolution firmly places community at the heart of everything we do at Contiki, it expresses the emotional excitement of sharing your first travel moments with new friends from across the world.
"We really feel we’ve bottled this feeling with our lively new brand evolution. We can confidently say: ’we look how we feel’."
Contiki Green, which the brand is billing "a new kind of green", is the centre point of the youth specialist’s sustainability focus, which has seen it ensure its trips are now 100% carbon neutral.
“We know sustainability is incredibly important to our travellers but so is a complete travel experience and having a great time," said Tasha Hayes, Contiki’s sustainability officer. "We’ve looked at everything from our processes to our communication to bring in line with the ’new kind of green’."
Llanos added the pandemic had brought the importance to young travellers of them feeling like they are part of a global community "into significant focus", stressing the brand’s "Travel. Together." philosophy would underpin their interactions with their fellow travellers, the cultures and communities they experience and visit, and environment.
Contiki chief executive Adam Armstrong said he foresaw a strong rebound for youth travel in 2022, and further global expansion for Contiki in the 18-35 market. “In the past two months, we’ve really started to see encouraging signs of a meaningful recovery,” he said.
“Our travellers are resilient, confident and eager to resume their travels. We’ve developed this exciting new positioning with their help – and we look forward to welcoming them back to social travel with Contiki this year."
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