New research has revealed Kiwi travellers continued to cross the ditch for a holiday in 2015, with three destinations in Australia featuring in their top five international getaways last year.
The latest Hotel Price Index™ (HPI™) from Hotels.com™ has revealed Kiwis stamped their passports most frequently in Melbourne and Sydney in 2015, as both cities came in at first and second place for the third year running as the most popular travel destinations. The sun and sand of the Gold Coast also won Kiwis’ hearts, with this Queensland hot spot landing in fifth place on the list.
The Hotels.com data also revealed that despite the weakening dollar against the US, Kiwis dusted off their suitcases for a trip to the States, with the bright lights of Las Vegas, the palm-lined shores of Honolulu and the streets of New York included in the top 10 most popular destinations for 2015.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian paradise of Bali landed in the top 10 list as the seventh most popular destination for Kiwis, while Bangkok ranked eighth and Singapore ninth. The usual Kiwi favourite of London just scraped in, claiming the tenth spot in the list of most popular international travel destinations last year.
The HPI is a regular report on hotel prices in major destinations across the world. The data is drawn from bookings made on the hundreds of thousands of hotels on the Hotels.com websites worldwide.
Commenting on the latest figures, Katherine Cole, Regional Director for Australia, New Zealand & Singapore for the Hotels.com brand, said: “With the Kiwi dollar predicted to continue to stay strong against the Aussie dollar in 2016, there hasn’t been a better time for Kiwis to visit their trans-Tasman neighbours in a long time. We’re confident travel to Australia will continue to see solid growth in 2016.”
“To ensure Kiwis make the most of international travel, Hotels.com Rewards™ is the industry leading loyalty rewards programme where travellers stay for 10 nights to get 1 free*. The Hotels.com mobile app will also come in handy while travelling with a wide range of hotels in all corners of the globe available at the touch of your screen on the go,” said Ms Cole.
