Contiki trips might be totally different from the ones you remember

THEY say if you can’t remember all the trip, you must have done it right. But not anymore.

IT ALWAYS began with an obligatory photo outside the airport departures hall and a final wave to mum and dad before heading off for that first, glorious taste of the big, wide world.

Then home became a distant memory thanks to boozy nights out, goofy group photos in front of the Eiffel Tower and urgent dashes to roadside bathrooms during pit stops for fuel and exotic foreign snacks.

Yep, we’re talking about Contiki, a long-held rite of passage for a million young Australians over the generations.

And we do mean generations. The first tour was way back in 1962, with a bunch of young Aussies and Kiwis trekking across Europe in a mini-van. The company has been around so long, tours used to go to Syria and Afghanistan.

But that’s not the only thing that’s changed.

A still from one of Contiki’s early TV ads. See if you can guess the year by the hair styles. Picture: Contiki

During the 1970s and 80s, young travellers wanted to see France and Italy. Today they want to see Bolivia and Chile. While tours used to be about singles — and back seat hook-ups, and scurrying between hotel rooms at 4am — now, a massive 20 per cent of clients are couples, including honeymooners.

And while partying will always been popular for the under-35 set, demands from Gen Y travellers have forced the tour company to venture into previously unknown territory.

“Baby Boomers and Gen X were into big cities and big parties,” Contiki’s managing director Katrina Barry told news.com.au.

“These days our customers still want to see the big sights have a few great nights out, but are more interested in local experiences, food, and understanding cultures, so we ensure we deliver on that.”

This generation of Contiki travellers wants a deeper and more authentic cultural experience. Picture: Supplied

Rather than cramming a dozen destinations into a dozen days, today’s Contiki tourists want what the company calls “experiential travel” — a full-on immersion in language and culture, not just skimming the surface.

“Getting lost in the backstreets and genuine authentic experiences with locals is also a massive trend, so we create lots of opportunity for this,” Ms Barry said.

“We always let our travellers know all about cool and interesting neighbourhoods that they may not have heard of.”

She said Contiki recently produced a series of videos highlighting not-so-obvious tourist spots such as Miami’s Domino Park, New York City’s Williamsburg, San Diego’s Golden Hill and New Orleans’ Frenchmen Street.

“[These are places] that aren’t well known, but our expert trip managers know the best way to check them out,” she said.

Holidaymakers on Contiki on Great Keppel Island, circa 2002.

In this age of the foodstagram, culinary experiences are so high on travellers’ agenda that Ms Barry said food has actually become a higher priority than sightseeing.

It’s what prompted the company to launch its new Munch foodie trips through the Mediterranean, Europe, Mexico and the southern United States.

And then there’s the global trend towards “voluntourism” — less about the party, more about the charity. The company has just introduced volunteering opportunities in Ecuadorean jungle.

Contiki currently takes travellers to 60 countries across six continents, with 300 different itineraries and eight different types of tours.

But at a time when booking apps and social media is making it so much easier for savvy young travellers to plan and book their own trips, is the company as relevant as it was for their parents?

Gen Y is doing Contiki their own way. Picture: Supplied

“We deliver the best way to see the world and technology just can’t copy that,” Ms Barry said.

“We have over 1000 Contiki team members on the ground all over the globe with local know-how and insight.

“The beauty of this is they know all the right the places to go, whether it’s for the best coffee, the coolest rooftop bars, the most authentic Italian pasta or best gelato store.”