Staying in the comfort zone for winter breaks

Kiwi travellers looking to escape the coming winter chills are tending to favour Pacific nations and Australia's Gold Coast, though hardier types are still booking for Bali, despite Government travel warnings.

Flight Centre spokesman John McGuinness said Fiji was now so popular that people were increasingly choosing Rarotonga or Samoa for a winter break, and the Gold Coast was a favourite in school holidays.

"The thing is with the Gold Coast and the Pacific destinations, there is never any risk, never any travel warnings, so people keep returning to these," he said.

"When the danger factor decreases then people will look further abroad, but people do tend to look in their backyard when there are advisories out there."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade provides travel advisories, with three categories of risk.

"Some risk" signifies that caution is needed, "high risk" means non-essential travel should be deferred, and in cases of "extreme risk" the ministry advises against all travel and suggests New Zealanders in the area should leave.

The extreme category usually applies to areas where there is conflict, warfare or civil disturbance, says the ministry's website.

Mr McGuinness said any travel involved risk, and some travellers chose to visit countries where warnings were in place.

"Bali seems to continue to be popular," he said. "There is a more hardy sort of traveller who goes to Bali - a bit younger profile and a bit more into adventure travel or backpacking and that sort of thing. So you find they're quite a bit more resilient to warnings ."

Bali is listed as high risk, with a recommendation against non-essential and tourist travel.

Other parts of Indonesia - Papua, Sulawesi, West Timor and the Maluku Province - fall in the extreme risk category, and Aceh and northern Sumatra are high risk and should be avoided until further notice, the website says.

Thailand's southern provinces of Narathiwat, Songkia, Yala and Pattani are high risk because of recent violence, and the ministry recommends deferring tourist and non-essential travel to these areas.

The rest of Southeast Asia - which covers the rest of Indonesia and Thailand as well as Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam - is classed as having some risk .

Mr McGuinness said that as Thailand recovered from the Boxing Day tsunami, there had been a "huge push" by travel agencies, Thailand's tourism authority and Thai Airways to get people back there.

"There's a whole raft of specials going on in regard to that, because it's coming in now to the traditional Australia and New Zealand season," he said.

"Obviously, travel from the Northern Hemisphere really dropped off after the tsunami, but now they are trying to bolster that by making sure our season is strong.

"The bookings are stronger than expected, but I think it will take a couple of years before it gets back to the level it was."

Other advisories on the ministry website include:

* Malaysia: Extreme risk in coastal areas and islands in Eastern Sabah, where there is a high risk of kidnapping by Philippines-based terrorist groups. Elsewhere, some risk.

* Nepal: High risk.

* Myanmar (Burma): Some risk. Be security-conscious in public and crowded places. Extreme risk in Burma/Thai border areas.

* Philippines: Extreme risk in all of Mindanao. Elsewhere, a risk of terrorism and kidnapping. Be very careful about personal safety.

Destinations with some risk because of the possibility of terrorist attacks include Spain, the United States and Britain.

Extreme-risk countries to which all travel should be avoided include Algeria, Colombia, Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Liberia, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Yemen and parts of Afghanistan.

New Zealanders in or planning to go to extreme-risk areas should be aware of the limits on official assistance, the website says.

"The Government may not be able to assist you if you are detained, injured or otherwise prevented from leaving these areas."

- NZPA