Gold Coast calling: Web searches for Brisbane flights spike ahead of transtasman bubble

PM Jacinda Ardern announces quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia will begin on April 19. Video / Mark Mitchell

Kiwis are setting their sights on a holiday in the sun now the transtasman bubble is just two weeks away, with an immediate spike in Google searches for Brisbane flights.

The Google Trends website showed Brisbane was likely proving a more popular holiday destination for Covid-weary Kiwis, ahead of both Sydney and Melbourne.

Air New Zealand, meanwhile, has already reported being run off its feet with ticket sales after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today announced Kiwis and Aussies could travel quarantine-free to each country from Monday, April 19.

Google Trends shows the increased interest in travel to Australia.

Air NZ said it expected to offer between three and five flights per day from Auckland to Sydney, between one and three from Auckland to Melbourne and between one and two to Brisbane.

Kiwis in Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown could also fly direct to all three Australian cities.

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Today's 4pm announcement that the bubble would open led to an immediate spike in Google searches for flights to Australia compared to earlier in the week.

The popularity of searches for Brisbane flights might in part be explained by New Zealanders' love affair with the Gold Coast where large numbers of Kiwi expats have settled.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the Trans-Tasman bubble would open from April 19. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Loved ones back home in New Zealand would no doubt be desperate to catch up with those settled across the ditch after a year of travel restrictions.

But those planning a transtasman jaunt may need to dust off their travel documents.

Searches for "New Zealand passport" have been consistent over the past seven days, but began to spike today following Ardern's bubble announcement.