Holidayers' itchy feet on move again

By SIMON HENDERY

Travel agents are enjoying a bookings bonanza as holidaymakers rattled by last year's US terror attacks decide to head back overseas.

Flight Centre says its travel expo in Auckland on Sunday sold $3.8 million of travel, compared with $950,000 for the same event last year.

About 10,000 people - double last year's figure - attended the one-day expo at the Auckland Showgrounds.

Flight Centre expos in Wellington and Christchurch earlier this month had similarly increased attendances and their combined sales totalled $2.75 million, compared with $1 million last year.

Marketing manager Graeme Moore said the expos' floods of visitors and strong sales had surprised Flight Centre.

"People put travel off their purchasing radar after September 11, for obvious reasons but, from Boxing Day on, it's gone berserk."

Travel Agents Association president James Langton said the industry was booking a "fantastic" boom in holidays, particularly to short-haul destinations such as Australia, Fiji and Rarotonga.

As well, Europe and the US, the destinations hardest hit by by the terror attacks and subsequent collapse of several airlines, were starting to rebound.

However, the corporate market was weaker than a year ago. Companies had cut back on travel partly because of security fears and also because the global economy had worsened.

Mr Langton said many holidaymakers were planning or booking holidays put off last year and taking up cheap deals offered by airlines with excess capacity.

Fiji Visitors Bureau regional director for New Zealand Penny Henderson said people had begun booking holidays in Fiji a month earlier than usual.

More than 70,000 New Zealanders are likely to visit Fiji this year. They numbered 66,000 last year and 44,000 in 2000 when George Speight's coup deterred tourists. "This year we're back on the books with confidence ... We have a strong repeat market and I think we're seeing the return of a lot of those people."

Mr Moore said Flight Centre was selling less travel to the US but sales to Canada were up on last year.

People were seeing Canada as "a good alternative, with not such a shocking exchange rate".