Youth travel brand Contiki is set out to prove it’s not a grimy holiday brand after comments from a barrister likened his client’s abysmal cruise experience to a “backpackers Contiki tour”.

Barrister Alister Abadee was speaking in court about his client’s holiday with tour brand Scenic Tours.

In 2013 thousands of passengers boarded Scenic Tours cruises that promised to be a once in a lifetime experience. However, due to a number of floods in the regions, many of the tours were cancelled or alternative routes or accommodation sourced.

The matter has been taken to court after complaints from unimpressed travellers. Abadee told the court his client, David Moore, forked out $18k for a cruise that resembled a “backpackers Contiki tour”.

“The whole experience was, for them, a massive disappointment,” Abadee told the court, according to the ABC. “The consumers did not pay for a backpackers’ Contiki tour.”

And now Contiki wants to set the record straight that it’s not as bad as Abadee thinks, cheekily offering him a Contiki holiday free-of-charge, provided he’s under 35.

“We found it very interesting that barrister Alister Abadee thought that our coaches lacked toilets and air-conditioning, and that we would let some mere river rising get in the way of us delivering our travellers an incredible holiday experience,” said Katrina Barry, managing director at Contiki.

“We take pride in the fact that we go over and above to take care of our guests – no matter what obstacles are thrown at us – after all we have been doing this since the 1960’s.

“For over 50 years we have been delivering quality holidays for young people and Alister Abadee’s comments made it pretty clear that he just doesn’t know us – so we want to invite him to join us on his very own Contiki experience and, whilst having the time of his life, learn exactly what we are about.

“Assuming Mr Abadee is under 35 years old, we invite him to contact our reservations team today to take his pick – free of charge. After such a busy week in the Supreme Court goodness knows he needs a Contiki holiday.”