An eye-catching new look and feel signifying “an optimism for the industry that meets the new needs of clients” is behind a brand refresh from Contiki, launched yesterday.

The tour operator, which has catered to an 18-35 clientele since 1962, says that travel agents can be confident that the “reinvigorated branding will elevate their selling power as the brand’s updated values still hold community and people at the heart of everything it does, while never compromising on fun.”

In other words, “same Contiki, fresh new look,” according to the tour operator’s corresponding launch video.

Along with the new look, Contiki says it has also realized its goal of becoming entirely carbon neutral effective this month.

Contiki says its refresh is designed to “modernize the brand, while emphasizing the fun, sustainability and irreverence it’s been associated with for 60 years.”

Featuring a new colour – “Contiki Green” – the vibrant colour in part represents representing the brand’s take on sustainability – a “new kind of green.”

“During these strange times, we took some time to really understand what our clients will want when the so-called ‘new-normal’ arrives,” says 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 like-minded people and a sense of fun, humour, and community. We’ve bottled this feeling with our lively new brand evolution and can confidently say: ‘We look how we feel.’”

The new aesthetic is also an expression of the tour company’s sustainable values.

“Contiki trips are intelligently designed to be 100% carbon neutral…” says Tasha Hayes, Contiki’s Sustainability Officer. “We know sustainability is incredibly important to our clients, but so is a complete travel experience and having a great time; we’ve looked at everything from our processes to communication to align with the ‘new kind of green,’” Hayes concludes.

“One thing the pandemic brought into significant focus was the importance of our global community,” continues Llanos. “Even when we were locked down in our homes, we were still connecting, still dreaming about travel and co-creating some inspirational content with our guests and partners. Even when we couldn’t travel, those special social bonds made on Contiki trips endured – and that is truly unique to us. So, for 2022 and beyond, we live by our brand ethos of ‘Travel.Together.’ which means to travel with one another, the cultures we enjoy and the environment, too.”

The evolution for Contiki comes at a time where the brand has set ambitious goals for 2022, continuing its global expansion in the millennial and Gen-Z markets. “In the last two months we’ve really started to see encouraging signs of a meaningful recovery,” says Contiki CEO Adam Armstrong, Contiki CEO. “Our clients 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.”

Check out the launch video HERE.