With borders closed, many Kiwis spent the summer at rental baches across the country. Photo / Zac Harris, Unsplash
With borders closed, many Kiwis spent the summer at rental baches across the country. Photo / Zac Harris, Unsplash
Want to spend summer in Queenstown or Tauranga? You better book in quick according to last summer's data from Airbnb.
When 2020 finally came to a close, it's no surprise Kiwis were in the mood to get away for the summer, even if the destination was just a few hours' drive away.
Judging from Airbnb's most searched destinations for stays between 1 December 2020 to 31st January 2021, there were some crowd favourites.
The most researched spot was claimed by Queenstown, followed by Tauranga, Auckland, Nelson then Coromandel.
Queenstown is also home to Kaye Parker, winner of the Community Contribution Award at New Zealand's first Airbnb Host Awards.
Parker's work raising over $1 million for charities helping those in the community impacted by the pandemic winning the judges votes.
Coming in eleventh place was Christchurch, where you can meet New Zealand's 2021 'Host of the Year', Angela Cossey, who hosts visitors in her trendy townhouse.
Most searched AirbnB destinations for summer 2020/21
Queenstown was the top searched destination in New Zealand by Kiwis last summer. Photo / Michael Amadeus, Unsplash.
It wasn't just summer that saw a surge in bookings either.
Compared to 2019, searches for Airbnb listings over Waitangi weekend increased by 245% in Coromandel, 265% in Northland and almost 1,700% in the Bay of Plenty region.
