Airbnb has revealed where New Zealanders are heading this Christmas holiday. Video / Molly Floyd
A holiday rentals platform has revealed exactly where Aucklanders are heading this Christmas holiday.
After 16 weeks under Covid 19 travel restrictions, it appears that city-dwelling Kiwis were even more keen to get out of the city this summer. Although, nobody is venturing far.
Surprisingly, the top searched Christmas destination for Aucklanders was Auckland.
Property listings website Airbnb has revealed where Aucklanders have been searching this Christmas. Photo / File
In a breakdown of Airbnb searches for property over December and January, top searched regions outside the Supercity were Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
"Within 24 hours of the border announcement searches from Aucklanders almost tripled," says Susan Wheeldon, country manager for Airbnb. "So, we knew that those stuck in lockdown would be most keen."
The Bay of Plenty saw plenty of interest from Aucklanders, with Tauranga and Mount Maunganui receiving 147,000 searches between them.
Aucklanders are loading up the car this Summer, but not venturing too far from home. Photo / 123rf
Apart from Queenstown, which was the second most searched destination with 69000 searches, bookings are mostly in the North Island.
Easily reachable by car, Waikato holiday favourites were also high up the 2021 Christmas wishlist, with Coromandel, Taupō and Raglan all in the top 10.
The most searched for amenity was pet-friendly accommodation, suggesting that all the family were coming along.
Many Aucklanders were not looking far, with 100,000 searches within the Auckland boundary.
"There's a feeling that staying a bit more local is a bit easier," says Susan.
"Obviously there is still some concern around travelling long distances, so that's Aucklanders staying a bit more local but enjoying the natural beauty around them."
The top searched Airbnbs overall were a little more as expected.
Tauranga was a firm overall favourite.
"I don't think Tauranga is unexpected," says Wheeldon.
"It's within easy driving distance from Auckland and Hamilton. You've got that combination of amazing eateries and beautiful beaches so it's no surprise it's topping the list."
Where Aucklanders were searching this Christmas
1 Auckland, Auckland, 99229 2Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, 83174 3 Queenstown, Otago, 69117 4 Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty, 63553 5 Coromandel, Waikato, 42140 6 Mangawhai, Northland, 36956 7 Taupō, Waikato, 30632 8 Raglan, Waikato, 27004 9 Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, 25976 10 Gisborne, Gisborne, 24013 *stays between 1December 2021 to 31 January 2022
Top searched Airbnb destinations overall
1. Tauranga 2. Queenstown 3. Auckland 4. Mount Maunganui 5. Wanaka 6. Coromandel 7. Taupo 8. Gisborne 9. Nelson 10. Mangawhai *stays between 1December 2021 to 31 January 2022
