David Hosking

David Hosking has extensive expertise in the travel and tourism industry as both a tour manager and a tour guide. He is adept at both management and marketing, and has experience living around the world, from New Zealand to Switzerland; Los Angeles to London. Hosking is currently the global managing director of Contiki Tours, as part of The Travel Corporation. He has been with Contiki Tours since 1976.

 

Background and Current Residence

 

Hosking was born in Whangarei, New Zealand on July 31, 1953. In the 1970s, he studied agriculture at the Canterbury University in New Zealand. Nevertheless, his true career was determined by his love for travel, history and culture.
Hosking and family currently live in Nyon, Switzerland on the coast of Lake Geneva.

 

Early Positions

 

While he started as a tour driver for Contiki Holidays (not yet called Contiki Tours), he soon moved up in the ranks and became responsible for organizing Contiki tours from Europe to countries like Jordan, Iraq, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Syria and Afghanistan. As the European tour manager, he ran these "overland" tours for three years.
To begin a non-European sector of Contiki Tours, Hosking was sent to New Zealand in the 1980s. He established his headquarters there but was later sent to Australia to open another Contiki location. In three years, he moved to Los Angeles and opened Contiki Tours in America. He was president of the firm, which included both America and Canada, for four years.
Later in the decade, Hosking set up shop in London, as he became the manager of Contiki Tours in Europe.

 

The Travel Corporation

 

Contiki Tours was eventually bought by the Tollman family, and the company became part of a larger tourism group established and owned by them. This tour company, The Travel Corporation (TTC), is a large umbrella organization holding at least 25 travel and leisure brands, including Contiki Tours, Trafalgar Tours, Brendan Vacations, and more.
Contiki Tours specifically focuses on finding tours for 18 to 35 year olds. The Travel Corporation operates in 60 countries including the United Kingdom, United States, France, Canada, China, Singapore, Switzerland, Indonesia and many more. There are 35 offices located around the world.

 

Current Positions

 

Hosking's work was so valued by the TTC organization that he became global managing director of the international Contiki Tours group and went on to hold other important positions at The Travel Corporation. Hosking is currently part of The Travel Corporation's board of directors and the managing director of TTC's travel group out of Geneva, Switzerland called TravCorp S.A.

 

The Conservation Foundation

 

The Conservation Foundation is a non-profit group established so The Travel Corporation can support education and awareness of eco-friendly travel and environmental conservation. Hosking took charge of the Foundation, becoming its president as part of an effort to take on more managerial responsibilities and projects under The Travel Corporation. One of the Foundation's most recent and important projects is its effort to raise awareness about the effects of travel on sea life for Earth Month. They do this through the support of a marine non-profit organization called Oceana.