Winston Aldworth: Bright side of Brexit

Donald Trump. Photo / AP

From the Travel Editor.

If you'd told me 18 months ago that Donald Trump would today be within cooee of the US presidency and that the suddenly disunited United Kingdom would - in a great sulk at Europe - take its ball and go home, I'd have laughed. Yet here we are, possibly at the dawn of a deep age of economic and cultural protectionism. At times like this, the perspective gained by a little travelling is a helpful thing. You're less likely to be fearful or hateful of people if you've hitchhiked through their hometown.

Though I think Brexit is bad for the UK, bad for Europe and, ultimately, bad for all of us, some things that are good for young Kiwi travellers could emerge from Britain's daft mess.

So here's a (hopeful) list of what could be good about Brexit for Kiwi travellers:

1) In the short term, the pound has dropped dramatically. If you're going to the UK for this northern summer, your Kiwi buck will now go a bit further. We're just a Boris Johnson breakdown away from a $5 note buying a pint.

2) In the medium term, it might get easier for young travelling Kiwis to find work in the UK. If Europeans no longer have easy access to the UK job market, antipodeans could be back in favour for low-paid work, meaning young Kiwis could start their travels earlier. We might see the rules governing working holidays eased. Likewise, there will be less competition for high-skilled jobs from those clever Europeans.

3.) Longer term, if an EU-based company wants to hire an English-speaker, Brits would no longer be the outright frontrunners.

These are tenuous attempts to see a bright side.

-- winston.aldworth@nzherald.co.nz