New Zealand’s tourism industry may be in for a flurry of domestic holiday makers after a new report suggests over 1.2 million Kiwis are planning local holidays in the next few months.
Tourism has been one of the hardest hit sectors after Covid-19 halted all international travel, essentially cutting off the lifeline of many operators.
A new study by Horizon Research is projecting that over 30 per cent of New Zealand adults have intentions to travel around the country to holiday in the next six to 12 months.
Horizon’s Graeme Colman says they are hopeful the research will be able to offer some insight for the tourism industry for the upcoming months.
“We’re hopeful they can use the insights to make the most of the restart. It should help them target potential travellers who most want the holidays they’re offering,” he says.
The Bay of Islands could soon be the hotspot for Kiwi visitors with over 820,000 adults projected to holiday there in the next year.
Popular tourist spot Queenstown and the wider lakes district is also in for a surge in local visitors with 800,000 over the next year, 400,00 of those intend to visit in the coming seven to 12 months.
Coromandel, Rotorua, Tasman, West Coast and the Central Plateau are also expected to see more than 2.6 million domestic tourists between them.
Tourism operators are having to review how their businesses appeal to a largely domestic market for the near future as many businesses had previously relied on up to 80 per cent of their revenue from the international market.
When asked what kind of “holiday mood” potential travellers look for in a holiday over the upcoming months, more than 60 per cent of those surveyed said they wanted to see more of New Zealand’s scenery.
Others were after a largely relaxing holiday to unwind after the pandemic fallout and some were wanting a social holiday to catch up or meet people.
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