Kiwis are a well-travelled folk, and their tastes for new and exotic places will continue to grow next year, according to one travel agency.
House of Travel has released the most popular places for Kiwis to visit for 2016 based on Statistics New Zealand data. The company says it could also influence the hotspots for next year as well.
Direct flights by Air New Zealand to new destinations such as Buenos Aires and Ho Chi Minh city have allowed the intrepid traveller more access to previously hard to get to locations, marketing director Ken Freer says.
Argentina, Cuba and Brazil topped list of growing holiday destinations for Kiwis, with a surge in popularity in Vietnam, Myanmar, New Caledonia, Peru and Mexico.
Trips to Argentina grew around 150 percent on the same time last year, while Brazil and Peru have seen a 50 percent and 40 percent growth respectively.
Mr Freer says the hottest destinations for 2016 give travel agents an idea about the trend for 2017.
"When airlines choose to fly somewhere new from New Zealand, particularly somewhere less-common for Kiwi travel such as Vietnam or South America, New Zealanders are likely to jump at the opportunity of travelling somewhere they maybe haven't been before," he says.
Mr Freer predicts there'll be continued growth in South America and Asia including Cambodia and Chile.
"We're also anticipating more Kiwis to explore more of Asia in smaller stopover trips en route to Europe."
Newshub.
