Many travellers are willing to draw from their children’s inheritance to fund their getaways
Many active travellers have seen their holiday spending rise compared to five years ago, with some even willing to go as far as spending their children’s inheritance to pay for their travel bills, according to a report commissioned by New Zealand Seniors in partnership with MYMAVINS, a consumer research group.
According to the Grey Nomads Report 2024, 34% of respondents who were active travellers admitted that their holiday spendings increased compared to how it was five years prior. About 60% of them said that they spent more than $5,000 on travel costs every year because of the cost-of-living crisis tied to inflation.
Despite about 54% of the respondents saying that they felt the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on their travel plans, there were 15% who said they were using their credit cards to fund their holiday travels while 17% were going into their superannuation. About 71% were also willing to spend the inheritance money of their children to fund their travels, with 87% of them intending to withdraw money from their personal savings.
“A spike in demand fuelled by the trend of ‘revenge travel’ in the absence of increased supply, has led to higher travel costs over the last few years,” said Kate Tawhai, owner of Travel Expert.
Citing data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Tawhai said that global travel traffic had returned to about 99% of the levels seen at the peak of 2019. As travel costs rise, the costs for airfare showed signs of decrease because of the presence of greater competition in the market, with more overseas carriers returning with more direct routes to the country.
Because of the rising travel costs, about 43% felt that they can travel as much as they would like to while 48% said they were able to travel for as long as they want. Around 26% of them said that they set aside $25,000 or less for their travel expenditures during their travels, while 31% admitted that they were not sure about the amount they needed to pay for holiday travel costs.
About 74% of the respondents said that they were planning to travel within the next 12 months, with 58% stating they want to travel to other regions in New Zealand and 57% saying they want to go to Australia. The majority of the respondents said that scenic adventures were what they wanted to experience in their holidays.
The Grey Nomads Report surveyed more than 500 New Zealanders who were older than 50 regarding their behaviours and preferences about travel.
