House of Travel reveals top UK & Europe destinations

Ones to watch: House of Travel reveals top UK & Europe destinations for summer 2016

Turkey, Slovenia and Malta are the up-and-coming summer destinations for Kiwis travelling to the UK and Europe in 2016, according to House of Travel.

Data released from Statistics New Zealand last week showed the European countries with the biggest growth in New Zealand leisure travellers between April and September this year were Austria, Slovenia, Malta, Poland, and Turkey.

More than half of Kiwis travelling to UK and Europe visited the UK, with 70,260 listing the UK as their main destination. France came next with 12,860 leisure travellers, closely followed by Italy with 12,020, Germany with 7,480 and Spain with 5,760.

House of Travel Commercial Director Brent Thomas says Kiwi leisure travellers appreciate European destinations that have some parallels with New Zealand, but with more information available and more airlines to travel with, we are becoming more adventurous in where we travel to.

“Key destinations such as the UK, Italy and France continue to be hugely popular with Kiwis, but we’re seeing growth in other European countries too. Growth in leisure travellers to Turkey has been exponential in 2015, and Slovenian visitors tripled between 2014 and 2015,” he says.

“We put this down to synergies between these countries and New Zealand. Turkey’s popularity is a direct result of the Gallipoli 100 year commemoration, while Slovenia is an outdoorsy destination with stunning scenery – reminiscent of New Zealand. We’re expecting to see continued growth in Kiwis travelling to both these destinations.

“Kiwis also tend to travel back to destinations they know and enjoy. Italy is a long-time crowd favourite, but we are now looking to travel past the well-known parts of Italy and enquiring more about the Amalfi Coast, Sicily and Italian neighbours such as Malta.

“In general, parts of eastern Europe are gaining momentum off the back of the incredibly successful cruise market. We’re seeing a trend of Kiwis flying in to Amsterdam and cruising down to Budapest, then exploring countries nearby.”

Mr Thomas says this time of year is when Kiwis move from dreaming about travel to planning and booking their trips for 2016.

“All airlines are now in market with their early bird flights for next year’s UK/Europe summer. Our research shows it is around now that Kiwis begin firming up their plans for 2016 travel and booking flights,” he says.

“139,100 Kiwis travelled to UK/Europe for the European summer this year, and we are expecting that number to continue to grow. We have introduced a UK & Europe 2016 Club for customers to unlock exclusive deals as a direct result of the number of Kiwis travelling to the UK and Europe each year.

“We have more information and more options for travel than ever before – the distance between New Zealand and the UK is becoming less and less of a barrier for travel.”

House of Travel is the largest New Zealand owned and operated retail travel company, with 73 stores throughout New Zealand, from Kerikeri in the north to Invercargill in the south.

For more information on the UK & Europe 2016 Club deals, visit www.houseoftravel.co.nz/the-club.

ENDS

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