Rite of passage delayed but not gone for good
The big Kiwi OE is not over yet, travel experts say, with those who have missed out over the past year predicted to head overseas as pandemic restrictions start to lift worldwide.
Brent Thomas, president of the Travel Agents’ Association of
New Zealand, said his own son was contemplating going on an overseas experience within the next two years.
‘‘It’s a Kiwi rite of passage. There’s certainly been a delay on those in the last 15 months, and there’s likely to be a delay for some months yet, however, from an agent’s point of view we’d expect to see people start looking for bookings [soon],’’ he said.
Inquiries about OEs were predicted to surge as vaccination rates in countries like the United States and United Kingdom meant those countries were reaching herd immunity levels, Thomas said.
Already, European Union countries were discussing opening borders up in the nottoo-distant future, Thomas said, which would mean the Kiwi OE would be ‘‘back on’’ as soon as later this year.
‘‘It’s a learning experience in terms of people’s career, but also [for] oneself when they go and experience different cultures around the world.’’
Thomas said a ‘‘vaccination passport’’ could become a reality for travellers.
Enticing Kiwis back to the OE would not be difficult because of pent-up demand from those who had missed out due to borders being shut, he said. ‘‘There’s potentially a significant number of young Kiwis . . . wanting to do it.’’
Steve Lee, director of Palmerston Northbased New Zealand Travel Brokers, said his son and daughter-in-law had recently arrived back in Aotearoa after spending 14 months in London on their OE.
Younger people were more resilient and less risk-averse than older Kiwis, he said, but it was unlikely that OEs would resume for at least another six to 12 months.
Lee wondered whether OE destinations for Kiwis may change, but said there would still be a desire to go far away.
‘‘It’s in our DNA. I did it, my kids have done it . . . It’s part of the Kiwi way of doing things. We’re down at the bottom of the world. When we go, we go for longer periods than anyone else because it’s just so far.’’
He said the travel industry was still waiting to see what the new normal was. ‘‘It’s the big unknown.’’
Both Thomas and Lee said they would be surprised if fewer Kiwis wanted to go on OEs in a vaccinated world.