The sixth annual Contiki Legends event, brought to life by Banter, showcased new experiences for Gen Z.
Contiki launched its line-up of Europe Summer 2020 trips and experiences at its sixth annual Contiki Legends event, brought to life by Banter.
Celebrities and travel industry experts turned out including Jimmy Niggles and Lincoln Lewis.
Sydney’s Max Watt’s venue was given a makeover with Europe’s favourite cities brought to life.
The 300 guests got a taste of some of the new and iconic Contiki experiences in different themed rooms throughout the venue, perfectly setting the vibe for Contiki’s announcement of new European product.
With experience at the heart of the event, the purpose behind Legends was to ignite excitement and passion for the upcoming 2020 program by transporting people to some of the best parts of Europe.
The evening extravaganza included a Munich beer garden with plenty of fresh brews and pretzels on offer, Sydney’s first tapas train where guests dined on some of Barcelona’s best dishes and finest traditional red wine, before entering into a Tuscan feast room where Nonnas, Ceila and Gina of MasterChef fame, served pasta from giant cheese wheels.
Flamenco dancers were on foot to keep guests entertained and Perth’s renowned DJ Shan got the dancefloor hotter than a Sevillan summer night.
Further entertainment was provided to celebrate Contiki’s Abbey Road experience with a Beatles tribute band delivering hit after hit.
The evening’s host, managing director for Contiki, Katrina Barry, offered insights into Contiki’s mission and how travellers are changing as Gen Z enters the market.
“We exist to help travellers experience the world. We understand that social travel has changed, and we too have evolved our offering. Gen Zs are more likely to have travelled extensively by the age of 21, 50% belong to a minority race or ethnic group, they’re better informed and are therefore more open to new and adventurous experiences," Barry says.
“Our approach has been to curate trips that are more streamlined, have the right size group for the experience and destination, new modes of transport and shorter itineraries for those that want it.”
A new way to travel was introduced with small group trains taking the spotlight. Contiki made a promise to get travellers to their dream destination whilst enjoying scenic views, with train trips taking travellers to hotspots such as Berlin, Barcelona and Budapest.
The series of exciting European experiences reflect the passions of young travellers meaning more localised experiences, such as whisky tasting and folk tales with a Scotsman in Edinburgh, gondolier lessons, dining with families in their homes in Seville and base flying in Germany. Also, new experiences such as a surf camp in Portugal and exploring the Croatian Islands and National Parks.
For the conscious traveller, more Contiki Cares experiences were also unveiled. These include walking tours of London with Unseen, a not for profit organisation that trains former homeless people to be guides; local community farmed and eco-friendly table dinners in Salzburg, Sarajevo, Split and Iceland; and e-docs which will see one tree planted every time a traveller says no to printing.
