Eastbourne in Lower Hutt. Photo: Unsplash / James Coleman
Lower Hutt is the top-trending New Zealand destination according to Airbnb, up there with Aoraki and Omahau.
The accommodation booking website ranked the most-searched destinations locally and abroad, by Kiwi travellers looking to get away next year.
The Wellington city of Lower Hutt took the crown for 'top trending domestic destinations', with Aoraki/ Mount Cook in second place, and Thames claiming the bronze.
Among the top ten were some notable small towns, including Twizel and Lake Tekapo in Canterbury, and Mosgiel in Otago.
Aoraki/Mount Cook was the second-highest trending search among New Zealand destinations. Photo: CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain / kewl
Airbnb's top trending domestic destinations in New Zealand
- Lower Hutt, Wellington
- Aoraki / Mount Cook, Canterbury
- Thames, Waikato
- Ōhaupō, Waikato
- Mosgiel, Otago
- Ōmarama, Canterbury
- Karitane, Otago
- Wānaka, Otago
- Twizel, Canterbury
- Lake Tekapo, Canterbury
Country manager for Airbnb New Zealand and Australia Susan Wheeldon said travel was becoming more widely dispersed across Aotearoa.
"The economic benefits are being shared across more destinations in areas such as Lower Hutt, Aoraki, Thames, Ōmarama, Karitane and Twizel, enabling a valuable economic contribution to rural and regional areas."
Airbnb said it was an indication of where New Zealanders were looking to travel over the coming weeks.
"Kiwis love to travel and we know the summer holiday period is a particularly popular time," Wheeldon said.
Karitane on the Otago coast also made an appearance on Airbnb's list of trending domestic locations. Photo: RNZ / Alison Ballance
The website said New Zealanders were also looking to Japan for their global travels next year with Hokkaido and Tokyo among the 'trending global destinations for Kiwi travellers'.
However, it was Sydney which took the top spot in the ranking, something Airbnb attributed to "major international concerts taking place across the ditch next year".
These include Taylor Swift bringing her international Eras Tour to Australia, where she will perform seven concert shows, four of which are at Sydney Olympic Park.
New Zealand was snubbed in the tour locations, leading thousands of local 'Swifties' to plan trips to catch the global sensation in Australia in February.
Also rated highly among global destinations New Zealanders were planning to visit were the city of Austin in the United States, and France.
Airbnb's top trending global destinations for Kiwi travellers
- Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales, Australia
- Furano, Hokkaido, Japan
- Shinjuku City, Tokyo, Japan
- Shibuya City, Tokyo, Japan
- Taito City, Tokyo, Japan
- Kutchan, Abuta District, Hokkaido, Japan
- Les Allues, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
- Austin, Texas, United States
- Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand
For travellers across the world, Indianapolis in the US took the crown for 'top trending global destination', followed by Warsaw in Poland, and the Japanese cities of Osaka and Kyoto.
The website said Japan was a hot destination, with searches for accommodation in the land of the rising sun having tripled since last year.
Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing. Japanese cities featured both on Airbnb's list of global destinations New Zealanders were looking at, and its international list of top trending global destinations for travellers worldwide. Photo: 123RF
France also frequented the top 24 and Airbnb said searches for the country had grown seven times since last year thanks to Paris hosting the 2024 Olympic Games in July.
New Zealand did not manage to snag a global spot, but Australia did, with Melbourne claiming 11th place.
