AFTER 57 years
packaging Europe
for the youth market,
Contiki will for the first time
offer itineraries for Southern
and East Africa aimed at
18- to 35-year-olds. Contiki
already offers itineraries that
include Morocco and Egypt.
This move follows hot on
the heels of fellow Travel
Corporation (TTC) brand,
Trafalgar, which introduced
African tours last month.
The new packages include
tours in South Africa,
Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and
Kenya that range from seven
to 13 days. Prices start from
R21 825pp to R51 962pp,
including accommodation,
transfers, entry fees for
game reserves and the
majority of the meals.
Flights are excluded,
apart from the Cape Town
to Johannesburg and
Johannesburg to Victoria
Falls flights included in the
Southern African itinerary.
The tours cater for
small groups (about 20
passengers per tour).
Clients will travel in sevenseat
pop-top safari vehicles
across Eastern Africa
and luxury minibuses in
Southern Africa, rather than
in large coaches. In Chobe,
clients will switch from
minibuses to open safari
vehicles.
Clients will be
accommodated in hotels,
safari lodges or permanent
luxury safari tents, and can
expect en-suites, patios,
lounges and swimming
pools. Available departures
start May 12, 2019 and end
January 5, 2020.
Yvonne Lekalakala, a
Pentravel consultant, told
TNW that while she was
excited about the new
offering, the majority of
leisure clients in the 18-35
age group travelling into
Africa at present were
solo travellers booking
Airbnbs, or ‘off the grid’
accommodation. “They often
come in with a set idea of
what they want to do and
just ask us to book their
flights. They aren’t looking
for group tours from the
outset.”
She added that the type of
traveller purchasing Contiki
was looking for a ‘party
experience’ and they were
less likely to experience
this in East Africa. However,
Yvonne suggested that the
new Contiki packages may
present an opportunity to
tap into a new market.
Commenting on the
packages specifically, she
suggested some may be
a hard sell because of the
price point. For example,
she said for the same
price as the 13-day East
Africa Safari Tour, clients
could spend 25-45 days on
Contiki in Europe. “The 18-
to 35-year-old market can be
quite price sensitive. It will
be important to educate the
client on the value provided
by the Contiki offering.”
However, she said the
Cape, Safari and Falls tour
exposed travellers to a few
different regions and is good
value for money and would
therefore be an easier sell.
At present, TTC does not
have plans in place for
any of its other brands to
expand into Africa.
