With the last remaining nationwide long weekend of the summer just days away, thousands of Kiwis are set to travel for Waitangi Day, according to new data.
Latest figures from Bachcare, New Zealand’s largest holiday home management firm, show forward bookings for some regions are up 65% over previous year, for the coming weekend.
The data also shows the impact of Omicron on the upper North Island with Aucklanders less likely to travel out of town, while Kiwis in the rest of the country are still travelling in similar numbers to the previous year.
Zaina Razzaq, Bachcare spokesperson, said while bookings are now tailing off from the record summer peak in some areas, regions like Queenstown/Southern Lakes continue to attract large volumes of domestic travellers.
Waitangi Day is the last national public holiday before Good Friday, which falls over two months later on April 15.
“Our data shows some Kiwis (and particularly Aucklanders) are starting to adopt a wait and see approach to travel - with many leaving their bookings to the last minute.
“Last Waitangi Day around half of the bookings were from Aucklanders while this year it has dropped to around a third.
“We think that many chose Auckland Anniversary weekend to get away while Omicron numbers were still relatively low.
“Bookings from the rest of the country are following a similar trajectory to last year however which suggests there is less apprehension out there from other regions,” said Razzaq.
Razzaq said in addition to Queenstown/Southern Lakes’s 65% growth over the previous year, Lake Taupo is up 38%, Canterbury is up 26% and Wellington & Wairarapa are up 21%.
“We know that for many holiday homes are preferable to other types of accommodation as unlike hotels, guests do not have shared spaces to contend with - we think this is part of the reason consumer demand is remaining resilient during the developing Omicron situation."
