Sun-lovers splashing cash for island getaways

Travelcom Mount Maunganui assistant manager Jenny Eglinton and colleagues are reporting sales of mid-winter escapes to Hawaii "going off".Photo / John Borren

Local travel agents are busy as sunseekers rush to book their last-minute mid-winter escapes, with Hawaii back in vogue and Vietnam another popular destination.

Tauranga House of Travel owner-operator Shane Kennedy described business as "really busy" and said the rush to book winter escapes began two to three weeks ago.

Mr Kennedy said short-haul winter escapes to the South Pacific, particularly Fiji and Rarotonga, the Gold Coast and Northern Queensland continued to be popular.

However, if it was proving difficult for people to secure their first destination choice they were prepared to consider a secondary option such as holidaying in Samoa.

Mr Kennedy said that was because Samoa offered "pretty good value" for money and pricing deals were more reasonable than in the past.

Also proving quite popular were trips to Thailand, especially to Bali.

Mr Kennedy said Vanuatu was proving a less popular destination this winter.

"Unfortunately the place has probably been a little bit compromised by the cyclone in Vanuatu and some people are a bit hesitant to travel there even though it is pretty much up and running again."

Travelcom Mount Maunganui manager Katrina Stewart said sales were very steady, with trips to Fiji and Rarotonga continuing to be two of the most popular destinations.

That was because they were easy to get to, there were lots of accommodation options, travellers could use New Zealand dollars in Rarotonga and the exchange rate was favourable between Fiji and New Zealand dollars.

Travelcom owner-manager Annie Sale said business was "very steady" but rather than the more traditional destinations, lots of people were looking for something different, making trips to Asia, particularly Vietnam and Thailand, popular, she said.

Mrs Sale said Hawaii was also "back in vogue again" since Hawaiian Airlines entered the market place a couple of years ago, and prices of holiday package deals were "very competitive".

"Hawaii sales are definitely going off, compared to what they have been for a number of years," Mrs Sale said.

Bali was not as popular a destination as it had been last year, she said.

Gaye Pardy Travel owner/operator Gaye Pardy said while many sunseekers continued to snap up special holiday deals to Rarotonga and Vanuatu, some were choosing to holiday closer to home.

That included opting for skiing trips to Queenstown.

There had been interest in holiday breaks to South America but the falling exchange rate was having an impact on some holidaymakers choices, especially when it came to Europe and America, she said.