The Great Escape: Where Kiwis are going this winter to soak up the sun

Travel agents say the miserable summer for much of New Zealand is helping fuel a boom in overseas travel by Kiwis this winter.

Demand for midwinter trips is running hot, with traditional sunspots in Queensland, the Pacific Islands, Bali and Thailand popular while one agent says Europe is the most sought-after destination for its clients.

And an economist says that despite the threat of recession and a squeeze on household budgets, there are still plenty of New Zealanders who still have enough money for an overseas trip.

While agents don’t provide figures on the number of travellers, Stats NZ data shows that for the latest month - December - the number of Kiwi holidaymakers heading overseas was at 73 per cent of pre-Covid levels. During the past year, when borders opened steadily from February, Kiwis spent $4.1 billion overseas, Infometrics chief economist Brad Olsen said.

House of Travel customer engagement director Celeste Ryall said the firm was seeing record numbers of customers looking for winter getaways, particularly given the lousy summer in the north of the country.

Besides perennial favourites such as the Pacific Islands and Queensland, Bali, Thailand and Hawaii were starting to trend.

And in spite of airline capacity still not at 2019 levels, the demand for holidays to Britain and Europe has been ‘‘unprecedented’' with numbers heading away to enjoy a European summer higher than pre-Covid.

This has been driven in equal measure by customers using credits and new business, said Ryall.

The firm’s top three destinations for June-July travel are Fiji, Britain and Australia.

House of Travel agents were were fielding a record numbers of inquiries for future travel from customers who are either relatively unaffected or positively impacted by interest rate movements (those with bank deposits) and prepared to pay higher fares and on-ground costs to ensure they don’t miss another year of travel.

‘’There are currently no signs of a slow-down in demand.”

Heidi Walker, general manager of Flight Centre brand, NZ, said London and Paris were the top sellers for winter.

Paris is popular with Kiwis this year who are taking group tours on buses or boats. Photo / Getty Images

“With many Kiwis not getting the summer they deserved, many are wanting to make up for lost time by escaping the New Zealand winter and experiencing the Northern Hemisphere summer.’’

Travellers were not being deterred by high prices or apparently worried by the threat of disruption to flights or delays through airports.

She said they were also less concerned about getting sick overseas than they were a year ago when overseas travel resumed for most New Zealanders.

Business class cabin demand continued to be strong. Walker when borders were closed, many people had made bucket lists of where they wanted to travel during the pandemic and were prepared to pay more to do it in style.

‘’What we’re finding is that despite the cost of living being very much on people’s minds, travel is still a priority for many Kiwis, but they want to make sure their money is going further, she said.

With airfares high – and unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels - travellers wanted to cover as much ground as they can on land.

Because of this, organised group touring was very attractive, especially in Europe..

‘’Cruising is also a good option as you’re getting value for money with accommodation and travel being taken care of”.

Blair Huston, managing director at Fortis Travel said there were a few good deals about but travellers had to take advantage of them when they saw them. There is a lack of premium capacity and sun seekers needed to be flexible with timing to ensure they got the best deal.

‘’Given Kiwis didn’t get much of a summer, demand for bookings for a mid-winter break somewhere warm have been unprecedented with sales up significantly compared to 2019, which was already an exceptional year for travel.

Fiji, Hawaii, the Gold Coast and Tahiti continue to be popular destinations.

Tahiti is a favoured hot spot for Kiwis wanting some warmth in winter. Photo / Supplied

Huston said Fortis Travel is seeing no sign of bookings slowing down despite high air fares and limited flight availability.

‘’Sales would likely be higher if it wasn’t for limited availability in premium cabins, as people are increasingly wanting to travel in premium economy and business.’’

Autumn holidays to Sydney are popular, according to Webjet figures which show the city comes in ahead of Brisbane, Melborne, the Gold Coast and Fiji for flights booked during April.

Olsen said while last year’s $4.1b spent on overseas travel was up from $1.6b when borders were largely shut, it was still 37 per cent down on 2019.

‘’The growth in overseas travel is considerable, but is also coming off a very low base,’’ he said.

It was not clear how the travel recovery will be affected by high and persistent inflation and rising interest rates.

‘’I’d expect that the rising interest rates and higher costs will see the recovery flatten off and lose momentum in 2023, with a more restrained recovery over the next 12-18 months.’’