New Zealand's school students have two weeks off after finishing on Friday and for a lot of Kiwi families, that means it's time to take a holiday somewhere around the country.
Travel booking website Expedia says it saw a 45 percent jump in searches last week compared to the week before, thanks to COVID-19 restrictions being eased.
Queenstown is the most popular school holiday travel destination, according to Expedia, which is backed up by Air New Zealand saying flights to and from the tourist hotspot are up 125 percent compared to the same period last year.
Expedia's top five most popular destinations for the upcoming school holiday period are as follows:
- Queenstown
- Auckland
- Wellington
- Taupo
- Canterbury
This time last year, Expedia says New Zealanders were booking school holiday trips to Fiji, Bali and Australia instead.
"The pandemic has definitely impacted the way Kiwis travel, with waves of restrictions, the ability to plan ahead has been challenging," says the website's New Zealand communications manager Justine Yusi.
"However New Zealanders are not letting it dampen their holiday mood and it's encouraging to see Kiwis still keen to get out and support the local tourism industry. With the situation changing every day, our advice for families planning a school holiday getaway is to consider flexible and refundable options to ensure peace of mind in case any changes need to be made."
Are you going somewhere special in Aotearoa these school holidays? Let us know on the Newshub Travel Facebook group.
