Kiri Gillespie: Financial caution needed by people who really can’t afford to travel overseas

On September 12, 2022, New Zealand was finally able to return to a new normal after years of living with a Covid-19 Protection Framework which closed the nation’s borders.

After two years of on-and-off lockdowns, you could almost hear a collective sigh across the nation.

It wasn’t long before photos of sun-drenched friends and acquaintances enjoying the Pacific Islands filled my social media feed. I thought such a wave of travel would calm down after a while, but the number of Kiwis heading overseas only appears to have ramped up.

On Tuesday, this paper reported Air New Zealand carried 50 per cent more passengers last year than in 2021 – up from 8 million to 12.3m. Travel agents have also said they’re the busiest they’ve been in years. This comes despite international airfares jumping 19 per cent in the final quarter of last year.

What welcome news this must be for the travel sector, which was among those worst affected by Covid and deserves some respite.

I feel glad for them but, at the same instance, I’m surprised.

Last week, the Government extended a 25c per litre fuel subsidy, prompted by the soaring price of fuel in light of a cost of living crisis. It shouldn’t be ignored that a Tauranga restaurant cited “rising costs” and not the public holiday as the reason for a 15 per cent surcharge on Monday.

In addition to this, inflation has risen 7.2 per cent and food prices have had the biggest annual increase, 11.3 per cent, in 32 years - as evidenced by a $7.50 cauliflower for sale in a local supermarket on Monday.

Yet, House of Travel Pāpāmoa owner-operator Tanya Aitken said despite the cost of living and inflation, “a large sector of the market are going to travel no matter what, especially after a few years of not being able to do so”.

It’s fantastic that the people who can afford to travel overseas are making the most of things and helping the hard-hit travel sector bounce back.

But my concern is that some people might be living beyond their means. The phrase ‘living a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget’ comes to mind.

I hope this is not the case. The past few years have been tough enough already. No one needs the added financial stress of funding an overseas trip when they can’t afford fuel or groceries.

I would like to think anyone struggling with finances heeds caution and holds on to their hard-earned pennies, no matter how tempting that flight to Fiji may be.

If there’s one thing events of recent years have taught us, it’s to prepare for the worst.

Those hard-earned pennies may well be needed later this year.