Grab a bargain trip courtesy of the recession

Flexible travellers can take advantage of deeply discounted overseas trips. Photo / Supplied

The economic downturn may be casting the country into a pall of gloom but Kiwi travellers are still pulling out their passports and packing their suitcases. Most are reacting to the hard economic times by simply planning a holiday that fits their tightened budgets. And they're being helped in this by some great deals as travel companies compete in a tough market.

Because the Kiwi dollar is a bit limp right now, a lot of travellers are opting for holidays in Australia and the Pacific, says the sales director for House of Travel, Brent Thomas. "Sure, there will be people crossing off travel from their list this year, but as strange as it sounds, the exchange rate hasn't stopped the majority of travellers from travelling.

"Most people have a set budget - an amount they intend spending on a holiday - and if their dollar is not going to buy them as much, they just cut back the number of days they'll be away. If they'd normally book a 19-day holiday, they'll simply cut it to a 17-day holiday. They tailor their trip around their budget."

But the juicy deals are even seeing people looking further afield for their holidays. "The number of people travelling to the UK and Europe was definitely down through December and January," said Thomas, "but it picked up through February after some hot deals came on to the market."

Thomas describes some of the deals - like under $100 one-way to Australia or below $1800 to the UK and Europe - as "unbelievable. I've been in this game for 11 years and not seen fares as good as these."

Similarly, the marketing manager for Itchyfeet Travel, Justin Burke, talks enthusiastically of "the lowest prices in living memory" for return airfares to Asian destinations.

"We've just had a whole stream of deals coming in over March for travel in April, May and June," Burke says. "There's a $285 return fare to Sydney with Aerolinas Argentina and that includes all your taxes.

"Royal Brunei has just come up with $899 return fares for Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong and they're also offering an $1899 return fare to London."

For instance, he says, the exotic climes of Bali, Phuket or Langkawi, where holiday-makers can enjoy incredible food, shopping, all-day sun and a different culture are suddenly much cheaper.

"Return airfares to places like these were usually up around $2400 or more. Now we're regularly seeing fares of $1099 and $1199, and to stay and eat and shop in these places is all so cheap. It's exciting, and people can still consider doing it, despite the fall of the New Zealand dollar."

Air New Zealand's fares that have a short shelf-life - the ones that you have to grab before they've gone - have been notably discounted. Recent cheapie return fares included just over $1000 to Los Angeles and just over $1200 to San Francisco. One-way fares to Australian destinations fell below $150.

"If you're flexible when you fly, it's so much easier on your wallet at the moment," an Air New Zealand spokesperson said.

"From what we've seen, Kiwis are still happily packing their suitcases but they're eager to get the fantastic deals. We've had better booking numbers than expected so far this year and these sale fares should bolster demand during the winter season."

The airline has also heavily discounted a number of its Premium Economy and Business Premier Companion Fares for groups of two or more people travelling together as well as fares for children travelling on family holidays.

To further attract customers Air New Zealand has launched special attention-grabbing sales on the internet in tandem with its 12-hour Grab-a-Seat web-site. In early March, the airline put 25,000 transtasman seats up for sale over a 72-hour period, allowing customers to scrabble over their keyboards and panic-buy but be more relaxed as to when they actually packed their bags. Some of the fares did not have to be used until early July.

House of Travel's Thomas says: "A great airfare is the gateway to opportunity." Would-be travellers are being hooked by a great air-travel price and that spurs them to make their budget work when booking accommodation and activities at their destination.