Asia has been the destination of choice for many Kiwis this year, though Europe is seeing a resurgence as Kiwis gain confidence in travelling to ‘the continent’ after a somewhat rocky start to the year.
Sean Martin, md G Adventures Asia Pacific, says that over the last few months the company has seen Kiwi travellers with booked holidays opting to head to easy to reach Asian destinations instead of Europe.
However, in the last few weeks he says there has been a spike in north ern summer Europe bookings with Italy, Spain and France growing compared to bookings for the same period last year. “The biggest trend we’re seeing is that around half of bookings being made currently are for departures within the next 90 days, so booking windows are tightening as confidence returns and there is plenty of availability.”
And once the UAE and Qatar travel warnings are lifted, he is expecting an even bigger influx of bookings. House of Travel ceo David Coombes says Europe has had a good start to the year, and so has Asia.
“The idea that one is winning at the expense of the other isn’t what our current booking data is showing,” he says.
“France, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy and Hungary bookings were ahead of last year in the last quarter, and Hungary has had an extraordinary start to 2026,” he says.
Looking to Asia, Coombes says its popularity continues with customers choosing Japan, China and Singapore.
Martin adds that G Adventures demand for Vietnam is absolutely flying, along with Japan, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. “Surprisingly, China and South Korea are also gaining traction as popular choices.”
