Contiki, the social travel experts for 18-35 year-olds is set to celebrate its 60th anniversary in August 2022, beginning with an exciting Chateau Big Weekender held in an iconic French castle. This year to mark the 60th, the brand’s philosophy of ‘Travel. Together’ takes on a new dimension where together doesn’t mean only with each other and different cultures, but with the environment too.

CHATEAU BIG WEEKENDER: THE PARTY OF A LIFETIME
There’s no party like an anniversary party and Contiki intends to celebrate in style with the Chateau Big Weekender, an exclusive, one-time-only itinerary that will see travellers partying like French royalty in the Contiki Château de Cruix, a palatial property in Beaujolais, France that has wowed travellers for decades. At this 3D2N summer extravaganza taking place from 5 – 7 August 2022, partygoers can expect to live it up with pool parties set against the thumping beats of live music spun by DJs, legendary nights spent dancing till the dawn in the on-property La Cave club and making priceless memories with international
friends both new and old. In between the bouts of revelry, more cultured activities await, including painting evenings accompanied by wines from the region, exploring the Beaujolais vineyards followed by an al-fresco French feast, and yoga on the Château’s manicured lawns.

In line with Contiki’s commitment to making progress on its sustainability goals, the Contiki Chateau runs on 100% renewable energy, and all meals by the in-house chefs are prepared with fresh ingredients that originate from local sources and around France.

Throughout the trip, Contiki’s quality mainstays will remain, with an Expert Trip Manager, Driver Team and Local Guides offering friendly insights and timely support for a hassle-free trip. Starting from US$349 per partygoer for a QuadShare room at the Château, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that’s not to be missed. Bookings can be made on Contiki Chateau Big Weekender – limited slots available.

Contiki has come a long way from 1962, when a young Kiwi, John Anderson, armed with the dream of exploring as much of Europe as possible, posted an advert on a hostel notice board (“European Tour, only two seats left”) and promptly set off on a European adventure with twelve other trailblazers in a battered red kombi minivan named “Tiki” – Maori for good luck. Since that first fateful trip, Contiki has inspired millions of young travellers to embark on unforgettable journeys to discover new cultures and make lifelong connections with other like-minded globetrotters.

With over 350 social travel itineraries available across Asia and globally, the original youth adventure travel brand has its sights set on delivering even more meaningful and memorable travel experiences.

“Contiki has always been about bringing people together and discovering the world. After 60 years — which is an incredible milestone for us—the journey continues. As a brand, we’ve always kept our finger on the pulse of what matters to youth travellers. We look forward to elevating our signature sense of community together with our sustainability efforts to create experiences where our travellers can be united in caring for the one planet we share – whilst still having a lot of fun along the way.” said Adam Armstrong, CEO, Contiki.

CONTIKI CARES: RENEWED SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
To stand with the environment, Contiki kicked off its 60th anniversary year by making significant progress in parent company The Travel Corporation’s 11 sustainability goals, which are anchored to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

In January 2022, it achieved the milestone of making its trips 100% carbon neutral. Since then, Contiki has also eliminated single-use plastic in all its accommodations in favour of reusable and compostable materials and has also switched all its accommodations to run on renewable energy. In addition, 81% of its itineraries now include at least one MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience that leaves a positive impact on People, Planet and Wildlife.

WHAT’S IN STORE FOR 2022
Looking ahead, Contiki will continue to build on its impressive momentum to deepen its commitment to achieving the brand’s sustainability goals by progressing on its efforts to reduce food waste at its owned properties, improve local sourcing and introduce more MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences to its itineraries.

At the same time, the social travel brand will be ramping up its newly launched Contiki Ambassador programme, an insider programme where social-savvy youth can share about travel and be rewarded with trips and bonuses. With this, Contiki hopes to inspire a new generation of travellers and ignite in them the very spirit of adventurous social travel that characterised the first Contiki trip back in 1962.

Finally, Contiki will continue to expand its impressive offering of social travel itineraries with new trips launching throughout the year to brand new locations as well as evolving and much-loved classics. Contiki is an expert in multi-country trips, allowing youth travellers to see the best of the best, and help them get back into travel in a safe, enjoyable and sustainable way – for 2022 and beyond.