Google Trends reveals the who, where and how of Kiwi travel in 2023

As temperatures drop at home and the Northern Hemisphere heats up, Kiwis are looking for places to escape to during the colder months ahead.
Australia, Asia and Europe dominate our destination wish-list this year.
Google Trends has put together a list of the ‘who, where and how’ of Kiwi travel in 2023.
The top 10 cities for a winter getaway, according to Google Flights Search data, were London, Denpasar, Sydney, Brisbane, Paris, Tokyo, Rarotonga, Queenstown, Melbourne and Nadi. Surprisingly, nowhere in the US made the top 10.
The study also found the top inbound travel – visits by non-residents to New Zealand – in the first quarter of 2023 were from Australia, United States and India.
As travel ramps back up, the question “how much to renew a NZ passport?” was up 100 per cent over the past 90 days. Other top questions in the past month included “do you need a passport for domestic flights?” and “do babies need passports in NZ?”
For solo travellers, Google Search Trends showed desirable locations over the past 30 days were Vietnam, Europe and Singapore.
While those looking for activities for couples were most interested in Taupo, Auckland and Wellington.
Further afield in warmer climes, Hawaii was the top spot for things to do for couples.
If you’re wondering what types of travel New Zealanders are looking for, the great Kiwi road trip trumps, followed by convenient cruises and group tours.
The most sought after road trips were around the South Island, from Auckland to Wellington, from Sydney to Brisbane and from Queenstown to Christchurch.
For those that prefer to cruise, Amsterdam to Budapest was Google’s top trending route, followed by Antarctica, Fiji, Europe and the Mediterranean. More budget-friendly backpackers looked to head to Vietnam, Japan, Fiji, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
Perhaps with the uncertainty that has come with travel over the past few years, Kiwis’ search interest in “best travel insurance NZ” saw a 50 per cent increase and “travel agency” a 60 per cent increase.
One question that is often on people’s minds when they think about travel is: when’s the best time to book a flight?
By looking at historical pricing data on Google Flights for trips departing from New Zealand, prices were usually their lowest five-to-six months ahead, with average prices bottoming out five-and-a-half months before departure.