Kiwi Travellers set to Benefit from Australian Dollar Parity

A local travel expert is predicting a 7% increase in trans-Tasman trips if the Australian dollar continues its recent trend towards parity with the New Zealand dollar.

Figures from the past two years show a marked increase in bookings as the Kiwi dollar has strengthened against the AUD, according to House of Travel’s commercial director Brent Thomas.

“Holiday travel bookings to Australia were up 10.3% in 2014 compared to 2013, which is nearly double the 2012 to 2013 increase,” explains Thomas.

The trend mirrors the closing of the gap between the NZD and AUD over 2014, as it climbed from 0.8050 at the start of the year to 0.9225 by the end of December.

With the current rate hovering close to parity, Thomas believes Kiwis will continue to take advantage of the strong exchange rate. If so, there could be as much as a 7% increase in travel across the ditch this year, making the market growth an impressive 17% in two years.

“Kiwi travel to all destinations was up 6.9% in 2014 vs 2013, which is solid growth, but clearly Australia has seen substantially more growth from our market which we believe can be attributed to the strengthening dollar.”

“Flights, accommodation, and activities for our favourite Australian destinations such as Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast are all more affordable than ever, and the closing gap with the dollar appears to be making travel there even more attractive,” says Thomas.