Covid 19 Delta outbreak: 'Surge' in Aucklanders booking baches outside city this week

There's been a surge in Aucklanders booking baches outside the city this week - like this one in the Coromandel. Photo / Supplied by Bachcare

The number of Aucklanders booking summer baches outside the city has doubled in the past week, according to one bach-booking company.

The data suggested Aucklanders were growing more confident that the borders would be reopening in time for summer holidays, according to Bachcare spokeswoman Zaina Razzaq.

Over November 4-10 there was a 108 per cent increase in bookings from Aucklanders compared to the previous week - the busiest week since July.

By comparison, outside the city bookings had climbed just 34 per cent over the same period.

That will be good news for tourism operators, who have been hammered by New Zealand's border closures and are reliant on domestic travel to keep their businesses afloat.

Last year Tourism NZ said New Zealand faced a revenue gap of $12.9 billion a year without international visitors.

Those visitors typically spent $232 a day while Kiwis travelling around the country spent $155 a day, the government agency's research found.

Razzaq said Auckland was the single biggest source of revenue for most of the domestic travel and tourism industry at the moment.

"A large part of the holiday home rental market is heavily reliant on the ability of Aucklanders to access their accommodation by road."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has promised Aucklanders will be able to leave the city for summer and Christmas as the city's first-dose vaccination rates are now over 90 per cent.

It's not yet clear if unvaccinated travellers will be able to leave or whether testing will be required before departure.

The date of the border opening to be announced next week.

Razzaq said December bookings made up 38 per cent of bookings and January another 26 per cent, while about a fifth of Aucklanders' bach bookings had been made for November. It's not clear if those bookings were for outside Auckland.

Aucklanders typically booked summer baches that were within driving distance - particularly Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Northland and Waikato, she said.

There was plenty of activity in those regions but some people were also opting for spots closer to home like Matakana and Waiheke Island. Canterbury and Lake Taupō were also popular.

Top 10 summer bach spots for Aucklanders

• Pauanui
• Matarangi
• Waihi Beach
• Cooks Beach
• Mt Maunganui
• Mangawhai Heads
• Matapouri
• Raglan
• Hahei
• Whangapoua

Source: Bachcare

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