Family travel being booked ahead of summer school holidays

It’s still July but if your family hasn’t booked a Christmas holiday, you’re already behind compared to some eager Kiwis.

More Kiwi families are planning their Christmas trips months in advance, according to data from Webjet.

The online travel agency analysed family bookings made from January 1 to July 10, for travel over the summer school holidays (December 20, 2023, and January 29, 2024).

Bookings made during the first half of this year are up 64 per cent compared to the same period in 2022.

The level of organisation could be because more families are heading overseas. Of the summer holiday bookings, 64.5 per cent are international or transtasman.

This is more than double compared to 2022 when 25.9 per cent of bookings were international.

Where are families travelling this summer?

However, the boom in international bookings doesn’t mean families are hopping on long-haul flights around the world or passing on domestic travels.

Only 15.1 per cent of total bookings are for international destinations, while 49.4 per cent are transtasman, with the most popular spots being Brisbane, Samoa and Sydney.

While domestic destinations make up just 35.5 per cent of bookings for the summer school holidays, this is likely because people tend to book domestic trips closer to the time of travel.

Top transtasman destinations booked for December 20 - January 29

1. Brisbane 28%

2. Samoa 14.6%

3. Sydney 12.2%

4. Fiji 11%

5. Melbourne 8.5%

6. Gold Coast 7.3%

7. Rarotonga 7.3%

8. Perth 3.7%

9. Adelaide 1.2%