Thursday, February 5, 2009

Waitangi Weekend Holiday Makers spending more this year

“New Zealand holiday makers are not letting the tougher economic times put them off enjoying their national holiday weekend,” says Matthew Mayne CEO of Jasons Travel Media.

A recent survey conducted by Jasons on more than a thousand people’s holiday plans for Waitangi Weekend; show that nearly half of people (45%) plan to spend more during this holiday weekend than they did for the same period last year. Only 12% of people believed they would spend less than last year.

“While the economic outlook for 2009 looks bleak, it’s heartening to see that Kiwis will spend more on domestic tourism over Waitangi weekend” Matthew says. “That’s good news for the accommodation industry, as well as for the New Zealand economy.” Kiwis traditionally travel domestically for Waitangi Weekend, and 79% percent of the survey respondents followed this trend.

Of those travelling, 55% were going to travel outside their region over the weekend, with Northland the number one destination. Interestingly, of those visiting Northland, only 2.56% were planning on visiting Waitangi during the weekend. Auckland was the second most popular Waitangi Weekend destination of choice for New Zealanders with the Bay of Plenty third.

The number one choice of accommodation was with family and friends. Motels were the first choice for paid accommodation with holiday parks second choice.

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