New Zealanders are continuing to prioritise international travel, with Kiwi holidaymakers breaking records \u2013 despite the ongoing cost-of-living crisis affecting households across the country.<\/p>\n
Statistics NZ figures show May was the busiest on record for New Zealanders returning from an international trip \u2013 exceeding numbers from before the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Paula Rhodes, owner of Hornby House of Travel, said the appetite for travel remains strong across all age groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of it is about making up for lost time,\u201d she said. \u201cThat older generation especially; there\u2019s a sense that you need to make the most of those years. You\u2019ve got to get out there and live while you can.”<\/p>\n
Trip numbers to Asia have also skyrocketed. <\/p>\n
Statistics NZ spokesperson Bryan Downes said short-term trips to Asia by New Zealand resident travellers were up 20% in the June 2025 year, compared with the previous year \u2013 driven primarily by more trips to Indonesia, China, Japan, and India.<\/p>\n
In the 12 months to June, 316,100 New Zealanders travelled to Asia for short-term getaways; a staggering 34% increase on the previous year.<\/p>\n
Rhodes said much of the Bali surge is due to Air New Zealand offering direct flights to Denpasar.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more accessible than ever, it\u2019s an easy destination, and once you\u2019re there, it\u2019s relatively affordable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Japan is also experiencing a significant spike in visits from Kiwis, particularly among younger travellers.<\/p>\n
\u201cJapan is huge at the moment. People love the cultural difference. It\u2019s a real assault on the senses \u2014 from traditional kimonos to anime. The Japanese people are incredibly welcoming, and there\u2019s so much going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur Blake of Christchurch attended the Travel Expo this morning and had already booked a Europe trip for 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more confidence now, so we can book a month-long holiday. You know you can book a holiday and know that your flights won\u2019t be cancelled,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Despite the cost-of-living pressures facing New Zealanders, Rhodes said it hasn\u2019t dissuaded Kiwis from booking trips overseas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do sometimes scratch our heads about the cost of living situation \u2014 but travel still seems to be very much part of people\u2019s budgets. We love to travel \u2014 and living at the bottom of the world, that\u2019s understandable. Especially with the weather we\u2019ve had lately in Christchurch \u2014 who wouldn\u2019t want a bit of heat and sunshine?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Zealanders are continuing to prioritise international travel, with Kiwi holidaymakers breaking records \u2013 despite the ongoing cost-of-living…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353897,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3090],"tags":[13133,51,1700,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-353896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-air-travel","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115049194086238331","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}