Air New Zealand increases Cook Islands capacity, Bachcare says bookings surge to Queenstown

Air New Zealand has added additional capacity to its Auckland-Rarotonga route for winter sun while Bachcare says Kiwis are also flocking to the southern ski fields - making up for lost Australian bookings.

Air NZ will increase weekly flights to the Cook Islands by two to 11 from August 16 and will add another during the October school holidays.

This would add more than 11,000 seats. The announcement comes after holiday options in Australia have been hit hard by the Covid-19 outbreak in New South Wales and some cases in Queensland.

New figures from Bachcare, New Zealand's largest holiday home management firm, show last minute domestic bookings have quickly offset gaps left by Australian tourists unable to travel to this country because of travel bubble pauses.

According to the data Queenstown and Wanaka have reached 90 per cent capacity and Arrowtown is at 88 per cent - as domestic interest in skiing during the school holidays surges.

Bachcare spokeswoman Zaina Razzaq said they had managed to resell almost all bookings cancelled during June.

She said, as a result, their sales projections indicate this ski season will be 15 per cent above forecasts.

"We can see from our analysis of bookings this year that the July school holidays are all about skiing and the domestic market has significantly shifted towards ski regions when compared to last year. "

Wanaka bookings are up 74 per compared to the holiday period last year. Queenstown bookings are up 37 per cent and Arrowtown is up 42 per cent. Ohakune bookings are also up 20 per cent, she said.

Razzaq says other regions around the country may be feeling the impact of the surge of interest in skiing.

Zaina Razzaq, spokeswoman for Bachcare says ski destinations are booming. Photo / Supplied

"With ski accommodation sales performing so well, other regions haven't been quite as popular compared to last year."

The only exception is Marlborough where bookings are up 63 per cent, she said.

Razzaq said high local demand over the July period may also put pressure on tourism infrastructure including rental car stocks in popular ski areas.

Auckland Airport is today experiencing its busiest day since last March with 28,000 people passing through its domestic terminal with Auckland-Wellington-Christchurch and Queenstown the most popular.