A week on from the government’s announcement that the self-isolation requirement will be scrapped for returning citizens, Flight Centre is seeing strong demand from Kiwis to see the world again.
Flight Centre enquiries have increased by over 30 percent on average over the past week and in-store bookings are up by approximately 15 per cent.
Compared to this time last year, enquiries are up by over 180 per cent and bookings by almost 270 per cent.
Top destinations include Australia, Cook Islands and Fiji, as well as further afield to the United Kingdom and USA.
Flight Centre Travel Group New Zealand managing director David Coombes believes this is just the start of a strong travel rebound.
"What we have seen in our other markets around the world is that after the COVID peak, which it seems we may be at right now, travel comes back to about 70 percent of what we were selling pre-COVID.
"Travel is a rite of passage in New Zealand, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the outcome is even better here."
David has been visiting Flight Centre retail stores, from Invercargill to Kerikeri over the past week and said there is plenty of excitement from the company’s local travel experts and their customers alike.
"What our people are seeing is plenty of pent-up demand from Kiwis, keen to visit their favourite overseas destinations or reconnect with friends and whānau. Our people are equally excited to get back to what they do best Рopening the world for those who want to see."
David strongly recommends booking travel through a trusted travel agent, especially during this pandemic-era when travel is more complex than before.
"With ever-changing precautions and protocols throughout a traveller’s journey – our travel experts remain across travel regulations both here and abroad and will help customers navigate this new reality with confidence.
"Not to mention – they know what they’re talking about when it comes to the best destinations, sites to see and things to do, bringing plenty of inspiration to itineraries."
David says there is now just one missing piece to the travel sphere – foreign tourists.
"We are the outbound segment of a broader travel and tourism eco system. For it all to work well, we need inbound travel too. We are hopeful the government will move on allowing international tourists into New Zealand in the next month, ideally before the busy Easter period."
