“Don’t wait for things to happen; make them happen.”

That was the inspirational message from the founder of Contiki Tours, John Anderson, a Wellington-born entrepreneur who established a massive global tour company for 18-to-35 year olds.

He told the NZILA conference he went to London in 1962, aged 22, with a plan to see Europe. He couldn’t afford the trip, but got an idea to buy a 12-seater minibus, take 11 people with him, charging them each £100. He soon had 10 women and two men heading off to Europe for a 12-week tour.

That was a success, so he did another trip, that time with 11 female passengers.

“I never doubted my ability to do it,” he said. The original business was named Tiki Tours, honouring the Maori good luck charm.

On the second trip, his mathematical calculations hadn’t been as accurate and the trip was in danger of being curtailed in Spain with a direct trip back to London. He put the cost of a direct trip home in one pocket and took the rest of the funds to a casino where, fortunately, he won.

That meant Spain was back on the travel agenda and the travellers none the wiser. “Always have a fallback position, but if you want exceptional results, you must be prepared to take risks.”

Mr Anderson said he was always ready to “give things a go”. “Be aware of failure, but never fear it,” he told conference delegates.

He quickly learnt the value of word-of-mouth advertising. More young Londoners and travellers based in the city were keen to see Europe. By the second year, he had two minibuses and eventually persuaded his Wellington-based mate, another John, to come to London to be his second driver.

It was the 7:1 ratio of “gals to guys” that clinched it for the second John. Both Johns are still married to women they met on tours many years ago.

When the NZ Government threatened to sue Mr Anderson for using the name “Tiki Tours”, which it owned, he added an abbreviation of continent to the front. Today the brand is more than 50 years old and the company’s greatest asset.

Contiki Tours expanded to a fleet of 38 Ford Transit vans, but so did its competitors – at one stage 26 companies replicated the model. Many were run by former drivers and passengers.

Mr Anderson expanded the fleet to bigger buses, although the first one was “a dunger” that consistently broke down. He then realised cheap options and short cuts were not the best option – customers wanted quality.

That meant a fleet of Mercedes Benz buses. Contiki wasn’t the cheapest, but offered the best value.

“I innovate because the market keeps changing. Competitors copied everything, except the quality route.”

Mr Anderson then started building permanent tent villages, so passengers didn’t need to pack and unpack tents in every new city. Then he bought premises, like chateaus and castles, to provide traditional but unusual accommodation options.

The concept behind Contiki remains the same – “Young people like to travel and to experience things together.”

Mr Anderson has since sold the company and written a book about his experiences. Today Contiki carries 200,000 people a year and has a $400 million annual turnover.

When Mr Anderson sees a Contiki bus on his travels – and he still adventures around the globe – he always waves. “They don’t know who I am, but I know what we have given them,” he said.  

 

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