Don’t Just Travel – Leave a Legacy: How Contiki’s Driving Real-World Impact for the Next Generation
SALM TEAM 
Youth-travel pioneer measures impact of decisive actions on carbon, crowding and community, on its journey to Net Zero. 5-years after announcing its ambitious sustainability strategy, Contiki shares its annual Impact Report, detailing how it’s cutting carbon and tackling over-tourism, while keeping the evolving needs of young travellers front and centre.
Contiki announces that since setting its target to hit Net Zero by 2050, it has already cut direct (Scope 1 & 2) emissions by 23 percent and value-chain (Scope 3) emissions by 20 percent compared with its baseline year of 2019.
A headline win for 2024 is the success of Contiki’s rapid switch to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) when available for its owned coaches in Europe. By securing HVO for 65% of its European coach fuel in 2024 – and installing a dedicated pump at its key partner’s yard in the Netherlands – Contiki avoided 1,422 tonnes of CO₂e in 2024, reducing carbon emissions by nearly 60%.
In other news, flights have been removed from five itineraries (where rail or coach delivers the same quality experience but with a lighter footprint), and the brand has launched a new train itinerary in Europe. A three-year partnership with Visit Scotland and The Travel Foundation is now exploring how to cut supply-chain emissions at destination level.
Contiki is equally emphatic about the impact of on-trip experiences. Eighty-six percent of its trips now include at least one signature MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, vetted rigorously against UN goals to measurably bring tangible benefits to people, planet or wildlife – from visiting the Warrior Women of Jasper, Canada, to paddling with penguins and supporting their conservation in Cape Town and helping to prevent tiger poaching in Ranthambore, India.
Taking the road less travelled
In a powerful parallel statement on the potential pitfalls of over tourism, Shannon Guihan, Chief Sustainability Officer for The Travel Corporation, underscores why community collaboration matters so much to Contiki, stating “Ultimately, tourism shouldn’t happen to a community; it should happen with them.”
Guihan adds that re-pacing trips, partnering with businesses in less-trafficked areas and “shifting the conversation from growth to balance” are essential if travel is to remain a force for good.
Lottie Norman, Contiki’s CMO says this aligns with the desires of Gen-Z, who are increasingly seeking the road less travelled and enjoying destinations with fewer crowds and a more positive local impact.
“In our 2024 voice of a generation survey, 88% of our audience said they would be more than happy to discover a destination dupe like Bordeaux instead of Paris, or Albania instead of Croatia.
In 2024 we were delighted to welcome seven new routes into developing regions, sharing the Contiki love further afield, from Albania to Peru. 27 of our trips already visit developing destinations and we have 5 more in store for 2026.”
Norman also notes that embedding MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences into itineraries delivers measurable benefits to host communities and ecosystems, ensuring Contiki is helping to support the places it visits, rather than overwhelming them.
Looking ahead, Tasha Hayes, Contiki’s Director of Sustainability and Operations says there’s still work to be done. “5 years ago we set ourselves 11 ambitious goals. The latest Impact Report shows just how successful the strategy has been, and just how committed Contiki is towards making travel a force for good. I’m so proud of the progress we’ve made, but there’s still a long road ahead on our journey to Net Zero.”
Dj Chilu 
Diana Kinyanjui 
