The countdown is on. With less than a month to go until Christmas most of New Zealand is pretty much set to pack their cars, hit the roads and head off on holiday.
Many head to the beach, and many more of us thrive on the opportunity to leave technology behind and pitch a tent, returning to the same camping spot we’ve been going to for years with the same families we’ve been camping with for just as long.
Family holidays are viewed as an opportunity to take a digital detox, reconnect with family and friends and decamp from all thoughts of work.
The frisbee gets a dust-off along with the cricket stumps and the melanine cups and plates.
A Wotif travel report has 66 per cent of New Zealanders saying they have very fond memories of the trips they went on as kids – and we introduce each new generation to the kind of holiday fun we had ourselves.
It doesn’t matter that family trips are no-frills affairs; only 19 per cent of adults in the report said they had the opportunity to go overseas as a child.
What else did the report unveil about our holiday habits?
We don’t like to leave our pets behind.
Of those with pets, 34 per cent were inclined to take shorter breaks and 39 per cent holiday less often just so they can spend more time at home with their animals.
One in every 10 pet owners buys and takes home a gift for their pet – and four per cent Skype or Facetime their pets!
Despite New Zealand being known as the adrenalin capital of the world, only 16 per cent of us have any real passion for adventure activities.
However, we do enjoy being amongst nature and wildlife (a third of us) and we will also travel for good food – 26 per cent of us.
Australia is our favourite overseas holiday spot, with more than a third of us having been. South East Asia is our second most common holiday hot spot, with 13 per cent of us having been in the last two years. The Pacific Islands follows very closely behind, with the Americas coming in fourth at 10 per cent.
We are a diverse and multi-cultured nation, which means that two out of three of those with migrant ties travel back to their country of origin – most often the United Kingdom.
Where are you taking your holiday this year?