Camping holidays booking out fast
Kiwis are flocking back to holiday hot spots as wanderlust and the prospect of a summer without Covid restrictions drive a surge in bookings.
Holiday parks and campgrounds at South Island destinations from Te Anau to Nelson are already booked out over Christmas and New Year and many are full right through January.
Campground owners say domestic tourists are driving the demand. International visitors are trickling back in, but not at pre-Covid levels.
This time last year, New Zealand still faced Covid-19 mandate restrictions including masks, vaccine passes and border closures.
Queenstown Top 10 Holiday Park manager Neville Tozer said the popular New Year period was booked out long ago. The surprise had been the volume of November bookings and inquiries from last-minute holidaymakers.
‘‘We are way up on last year. People are enjoying a bit of freedom and winging it.
‘‘We have the odd night here and there that isn’t fully booked yet. But even now we are 60 to 70% booked up per night and sometimes 100%.’’
The Camp at Lake Hāwea was also booked out from December 24 to mid-January after a fairly consistent winter. Manager Karyn Abery said travellers were predominantly from New Zealand, but some were coming from Australia, Singapore, China, Thailand, the United States and United Kingdom. ‘‘This year we could have filled the park twice. We are constantly getting inquiries and turning people away.’’
In Southland, Te Anau has no spaces at campgrounds between December 30 and January 1.
Wānaka Lakeview Holiday Park’s units and powered sites were well booked throughout the New Year period.
‘‘We filled up much earlier in the year than previous years, with more international guests having forward bookings along with having to keep sites free to accommodate staff as they have nowhere to live,’’ manager Natalie Ward said.
In Canterbury, Akaroa Top 10 Holiday Park was well-booked from mid-December through to Waitangi weekend.
Kaiteriteri, near Nelson, had been booked solid for the holidays since May.
On the West Coast, Fox Glacier Top 10 Holiday Park is fully booked from December 1 until late January. ‘‘Most of our cabins and houses are booked. In the last three weeks there has been no vacancies [signs] in the hotels in town,’’ manager Maatewa Ratu said.
Greymouth Top 10 Holiday Park was up in bookings and Kaikō ura was at its busiest since the Covid pandemic began.