David Hosking

David Hosking is a seasoned tourism and travel professional, with a career spanning more than three decades. He started with Contiki Tours at the bottom of the ladder in 1976 and today serves as global managing director of Contiki Tours International Limited, as well as being a director of Travcorp S.A.

Hosking was born in 1953 in Whangarei in the Bay of Islands region of New Zealand. He completed his high school education and boarding school in Auckland, and went on to study agriculture at the University of Canterbury. The University of Canterbury is one of New Zealand’s most prestigious schools and is located in the largest city on New Zealand’s south island, Christchurch. Studying agriculture would later help him when collaborating with Jacques Cousteau’s daughter, Celine, to help preserve marine life in various areas of the world. The University of Canterbury offers its students many amenities, including professors with vast knowledge about the material taught, allowing Hosking to get a broad spectrum education in the field of agriculture. His studies assisted him in gaining knowledge of the climates and ecosystems around the world, helping him figure out and define the best destinations for tourism.

Currently Hosking lives with his wife and family in Nyon in Switzerland, and when not busy with his many commitments for The Travel Corporation and its Conservation Foundation, Hosking enjoys all sports and the outdoor life.

David Hosking has held several positions in The Travel Corporation, starting off as a tour manager in Europe. His tours were overland routes through a number of countries in which political unrest precluded continued travel during the late 1970s. At this time David Hosking was sent back to his native New Zealand to develop new destinations and tour routes there and in Australia, which developed into popular destinations with the young travellers that are Contiki’s target demographic. After successfully setting up operations in Australia and New Zealand, Hosking was sent to the United States to head Contiki operations in North America. After four successful years in Los Angeles, he returned to London with his wife and his young son, to become managing director of Contiki Europe. Two years later, in 1989, Trafalgar Tours acquired Contiki, leading to the formation of The Travel Corporation (TTC). In 1991 Hosking was promoted again to the position he holds today - global managing director of Contiki.

TTC, with some 25 brands under its umbrella organization, offered space for growth and development and in 2000 Hosking joined the board of TTC. Hosking is active in many aspects of the growth and development of TTC and, in addition to his position with Contiki, is also the managing director of Travcorp S.A., based in Switzerland. This company, with approximately fifty employees on its staff, bears the management responsibility for many of TTC’s operations in Europe.

TTC is firmly committed to environmental awareness, and this is given expression via the Travel Corporation Conservation Foundation, of which David Hosking has been chairman since 2007. The Conservation Foundation is strictly non-profit, based in Switzerland and is funded by contributions from the various brands in the TTC group. In his role as chairman of the Foundation, David Hosking actively participates in the selection of projects and cooperates closely with the Foundation’s advisors in the management of its funds. During an event to honor Earth Month 2011, Hosking announced a collaboration between Contiki and Celine Cousteau, environmentalist daughter of Jacques Coustea, in a program to educate company staff and tourists on the environmental risks facing marine ecosystems. As part of its active involvement in the efforts to protect marine life, Contiki sends young environmentalists to work on the barrier reefs, and also supports research in the Mediterranean.