How Kiwis are travelling today

Our family history influences the way we travel. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwis are exploring our passions and family history through travel, but our pets are holding us back from taking more holidays, new research has found.

Wotif.co.nz's Wot's Your Journey? Report* has looked at the way New Zealanders travel and what influences our plans. From our unique geography, to childhood experiences, family, cultural background, passions and even four-legged furry friends, many factors make Kiwis the travellers they are today.

Family heritage also plays a role in shaping where our multicultural nation chooses to travel. Two out of three of those with migrant ties (68 per cent) make trips to their country of origin – most often the United Kingdon (56 per cent).

National pride and family ties also plays a part, motivating 21 per cent of travellers who believe it's important to visit destinations and wartime sites where New Zealand servicemen fought.

And many of us can blame our parents for giving us the travel bug – 40 per cent of Kiwis say their parents instilled a love of travel in them as a child, while 66 per cent have positive memories of childhood holidays.

We're also taking advantage of business travel, with one in three people (31 per cent) travelling for work in the last two years. For 47% of these people, travelling for work provides them with inspiration and opportunities for leisure holidays.

However, almost one in five (20 per cent) say they prefer to keep holidays local because of all their work-related travel.

World issues also affect Kiwis' choice of destination – in particular, the environment. Climate change features in the feature in the thinking of over two in five people (41 per cent) who feel a sense of urgency to visit places such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Maldives and Antarctica.

The rising cost of living is also a factor – although it's not stopping Kiwis from following their inner travel bug, more are seeking out bargains and better value for money. Three quarters of New Zealand travellers admit this would impact their destination choices in the next five years.

However, one of the biggest holiday challenges is our furry friends. Thirty-four per cent of pet-owners felt inclined to take shorter breaks or fewer holidays.

* The Leading Edge were engaged by Wotif to conduct research into understanding New Zealand travellers. The study was conducted in October 2017 via an online survey completed by a nationally representative sample of n=1,031 New Zealand travellers (who had all travelled and stayed in paid accommodation in the last 2 years on leisure holidays). Data was weighted to National Representative proportions to reflect the age and gender of New Zealand travellers.

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