They say clothes maketh the man, but do they make for happy travellers? Contiki Holidays thinks so, with the leading travel company for 18-35’s introducing a range of ‘Only Contiki’ designer outlet stops across its 2012/13 Europe program giving travellers discount access to over 100 brand labels such as Dolce & Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli, Missoni, Diesel, Guess and Quicksilver to name a few.

The new shopping experiences, focused around four designer outlet shopping malls in Europe, allows travellers to snap up designer bargains of between 30-70% off regular pricing, plus a further 10% as a Contiki traveller in many of the stores and bring home local styles which are seasons ahead of at-home trends.

The passion young travellers have for fashion was backed up by findings released by Contiki Holidays as part of its annual Travel Trends Research Report. This year’s report, entitled Style Miles, revealed 60% of young Australians deem fashion as an important part of their lives. Furthermore, fashion influences their behavior while travelling; 82% like visiting iconic fashion stores and precincts while travelling, 75% have bought new clothes while overseas and 34% have altered their style after travelling.

Fiona Hunt, Managing Director, Contiki Holidays said “Today’s young travellers are no longer content to just skim the surface of the places they visit. They want to become fully immersed in local culture. With fashion an increasingly important factor of their own cultural lifestyles, it stands to reason that they would want to seek out authentic fashion-focused experiences overseas.

“By introducing these new fashionista options, we are helping young travellers bridge the gap between just soaking up the local styles they are seeing on the streets and acquiring them for themselves.

“We have handpicked these four designer outlets to provide travellers with the most choice and the best value, saving them from hours of scouring hundreds of stores to find styles they can relate to and also afford.

“Incorporating local styles into their own wardrobes thanks to these included options goes beyond practical coverings and bragging rights to friends back home. They also serve as a tangible means of tracking travel memories. In fact, our research revealed that 41% of young Australians have bought an iconic item to wear at home which reminds them on their time away.

“Contiki is all about choice. We recognise that while a significant amount of travellers will be interested in these fashion stops, they aren’t for everyone. To ensure we are also catering to those that aren’t as keen on clothes, additionally these stops will also focus around authentic food experiences such as cooking demonstrations and tastings.  

“As the lines between lifestyle and travel continue to blur, we commit to evolving our product to incorporate more unique and truly authentic ‘Only Contiki’ opportunities such as these.”

Contiki’s 2012/13 Europe brochure is out now!
For more information see www.contiki.com.au  or to make a booking see your travel agent or call 1300 CONTIKI (1300 266 845). For view the full results from Contiki’s Style Miles, visit www.contiki.com/stylemiles

ENDS

Media contact:
Jennifer McDermott
Senior Communications Executive
The Travel Corporation
(02) 9028 5535
jennifer.mcdermott@travelcorporation.com.au

Rae White
Group Communications Manager  
The Travel Corporation
(02) 9028 5035
rae.white@travelcorporation.com.au