Holiday hedging on Greenback

Travellers are joining businesses in hedging against the United States dollar as market views grow that the kiwi has peaked around 74USc.

A survey of Flight Centre consultants shows holiday hedging - travellers buying US dollars for future trips - is increasing.

Shore City Flight Centre consultant Thaddeus D'Souza said his clients were "buying US cash by the bucket load", while other agents noticed people booking flights and accommodation further in advance in case the local dollar fell.

That followed a swing back to longer US stopovers and a surge in North American holidays as the kiwi dollar gained strength.

Statistics New Zealand said the number of people travelling to the US for a holiday or visiting friends and family rose by 18.8 per cent for the period July 2004 to this January from a year earlier.