Kiwis take wing as travel gets cheaper

Overseas travel has never been cheaper and New Zealanders are "having a ball", says Peter Lowry, head of the Travel Agents' Association.

The weak US dollar was a bonus for holidaymakers, he said.

A 47-year veteran of the travel business, Mr Lowry said he had never seen trips as affordable or accessible to so many people.

Overseas travel by New Zealanders was up 30 per cent on last year.

"It's been rising all the time and I'm expecting a record season through to March," he said.

"Both inbound and outbound are very buoyant."

In addition to the sagging greenback and our strong currency, cheaper airfares and an "enormous amount" of package holiday opportunities were driving the boom.

"The choice is fantastic," said Mr Lowry, who is also chief executive of the Inbound Tour Operators' Council.

New airlines coming here and more flights to Asian destinations were another bonus.

"It's a buyer's market and it's going gangbusters. Consumers now want to travel as never before," he said.

Pinpointing the most popular holiday spots was difficult, but New Zealanders and Australians were "pouring across the Tasman in both directions".

Kiwis had undergone a "whole new mental process", and some people now thought nothing of flying to Australia for a weekend, said Mr Lowry.

BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander said recent exchange rate movements were "a bit short-term" to factor into the planning of Christmas holidays in the United States or other countries.

But he agreed that outward travel was booming.

"It's hard to imagine it getting any better than it is at the moment."

Christmas retail spending would be strong, Mr Alexander predicted, but that was on the basis of a firm labour market here rather than the nosediving US dollar.