Islands a popular winter warmer

LOVELY AND WARM: Fiji is top of the pops this winter. PHOTO/SAM HEPBURN

Wairarapa residents are looking to warmer climates for their winter holiday this year with Rarotonga and Fiji overtaking Hawaii as the most popular destination choice.

Regardless of all the press Hawaii has received after John Key's son Max posted a video of their Hawaiian family holiday to social media last month, Wairarapa travel agents insist that Hawaii was "last year's destination" and that this year's popular winter escapes are a little closer to home.

Lisa Falk, of World Travellers Masterton, said Rarotonga and Fiji were popular for Wairarapa residents this winter because of ease of travel and cost.

"With Fiji, they have a direct service from Wellington, so it does tend to be easier for families to travel there.

"I'll be going with my family in September, and there will definitely be no hassles like having to go to Auckland or having endless transfers.

"The Cook Islands on the other hand are always good because they use the NZ dollar.

"When you look at destinations like Hawaii, it can be more expensive because our dollar is much weaker than the US."

Lee Feast, of Harvey World Travel, agrees that Wairarapa residents are tending to flock to countries closer to home for a winter getaway this year.

"When it's cold here, we want to get out of the cold and into some warmer weather.

"Fiji and Rarotonga are quite affordable destinations and are popular for people living here because they like the fact that they aren't too far away from home.

"Places like Hawaii are good family destinations too but people like the fact that Fiji and Rarotonga are closer to home with only about four-hour flight times."

Sam Hepburn, of House of Travel, said other travel trends for Wairarapa residents included cruising and tailor-made holiday adventures.

"Fiji and Rarotonga seem to be the staple this winter due to the proximity of these destinations and the fact that we have some amazing deals.

"Along with this trend, our agency sees that cruising and tailored holiday adventures to emerging destinations such as Vietnam, India and South America will become increasingly popular.

"NZ has one of the fastest growing cruise industries in the world and it's growing year on year as the cruise companies bring bigger and better ships to our shores.

"So I see huge potential there."

Mr Hepburn said most Wairarapa people took their holiday mid-year but that House of Travel was now seeing people wanting to have their winter getaway year round as they took advantage of the deals on offer.