Skift Take

Contiki's CEO, Adam Armstrong, is working to boost the company's technological offerings as the company spreads further into Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Jesse Chase-Lubitz

Contiki, a travel company focused on young adults, is eyeing expansion in Asia, Latin America, and Africa as it adapts to the post-pandemic travel landscape.

CEO Adam Armstrong said in a Skift interview that Contiki has a strong presence in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe and sees the potential to double or triple its business in these new markets. Increased demand from Australians and Americans for cost-effective and less congested destinations in Asia is driving the shift in focus.

Africa has emerged as a significant success story for Contiki, particularly among travelers in their late 20s and 30s, while Latin America remains a work in progress, Armstrong noted.

The CEO also highlighted changes in traveler preferences, with a temporary shift back to longer trips post-pandemic now leveling off. Group sizes are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024, and younger travelers are requiring more support to integrate into group environments.

Contiki plans to invest in AI-powered tools and decarbonize, too, Armstrong said.

Contiki CEO, Adam Armstrong. Source: Contiki. Areas of growth

Skift: Your strongest markets are Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Are you looking to expand your presence in other parts of the world?

Adam Armstrong: Outside of Europe, we've been making a concerted effort to build our business in three other regions: Asia, Latin America, and Africa. We've been operating in all those places for a while. But we see huge potential for us to be much bigger — we could double or triple our business there. So there's a lot of marketing activity going for us into those three destinations to try and persuade people to try them out as well.