''I don't think the fall will have a massive impact. There's a little bit of a speed bump with the changing value of the dollar but I think we'll continue to kick on.''
Flight Centre analysis shows that a year ago a customer buying $2500 worth of US dollars would have bought $NZ116 more than today, $NZ75 more Euro and $NZ10 more Australian dollars.
Overseas holidays have soared during the last decade. In June, 2008 there were 176,000 overseas trips by New Zealanders, while this year there were more than 288,000.
McKearney had a number of tips in markets where costs have increased:
Package it up
There are still great air fare deals but travellers should lock in other parts of the trip when they book a flight. Package deals come into their own where travel agents and wholesalers will use the margins of the hotels and airfares to come in with a good deal including on car rental, food packages and attractions.
''From a travellers' point of view the more you can lock in at the outset the better.''
Eat in
Look for apartments (and some hotels) that have kitchens or barbecues to cook a meal and save.
Keep options open
Rarotonga has been off the radar slightly but because NZ dollars are used it will become more popular. Australian cities have good hotel deals during weekends, Bali on the ground costs are low and Thailand hotel prices are up to a third of those in parts of the US.
Flight Centre Travel Money also has some tips:
Eye's up
''Our advice to customers is to keep an eye on exchange rates and buy when you're ready. Be aware that the rate you see on the news is the market rate, not a rate you'll receive in store and naturally you'll pay a heap more for currency at the airport as you're paying the high convenience fee.''
Load up
Pre-paid travel money cards are becoming popular and customers can "lock in" the rate for their spending money as they load their currency.
''This is a great way to chip away at building your funds,'' said Travel Money brand leader Daniel Jackson.
Hawaii has been a high growth market for the past five years but the falling kiwi has made it more expensive.
Hawaii Tourism Oceania said that while a higher the New Zealand dollar was better for Kiwis travelling overseas, the current rate against the US dollar still offered good value, especially when compared to historical levels.
''This is also helped by the fact that airfares to Hawaii are generally half the price they were 10 years ago, '' said a spokesman.
His tips to cut costs include:
Eat like a local
Outside the main tourist areas eateries offered tasty and affordable cuisine Also check out the numerous food trucks and farmers markets throughout all the six Hawaiian Islands.
Happy hours
Most bars and hotels have them and drink and snacks are reasonable prices. Many restaurants have early bird specials, and kids menu prices offered good value.
Go off-peak
If you have the flexibility, plan your travel dates outside of the peak periods for the North American market. The three busiest months in Hawaii are December, February and July.
The Reserve Bank's monetary policy statement last Thursday — indicating interest rates would remain low for the next two years — precipitated the sharp fall in the kiwi.
Helloworld's McKearney said more certainty over interest rates would help travellers to plan, even if some destinations were more expensive.
He said for package deals hedging ensured his firm's pricing would be static for a while
''How long that lasts is probably questionable.''
Airlines and travel agents would soon release ''early bird'' airfares for travelling to Europe next winter.
McKearney said that as long as demand by overseas visitors to come to New Zealand remained strong, airlines would maintain capacity which has been running at record levels over the last two years.
Helloworld also had inbound tourism operations.
''New Zealand is certainly the place to be and forward bookings for next year and the year after are very strong. The airlines are driving capacity with that, They're not starting up operations thinking that they want to take New Zealanders to the world - it's the inbound coming in and then having to fill those planes that's driving growth.''
Westpac industry economist Paul Clark said that while the growth of overseas travel had been strong and was likely to continue to rise, since last year it was showing signs of levelling off.
Spending on travel was discretionary and consumers faced increased costs of imported goods such as cars and whiteware.
Wage growth had been low over the past few years and combined with the fall in the dollar potential travellers were facing headwinds.
The average level for the Kiwi dollar against the US over the last 25 years is US66c and this afternoon it was trading at 65.89c.
