Bay making the most of the strong NZ dollar

Local travellers in the Bay making the most of the strong NZ dollar

• NZ dollar has gone from strength to strength and people in the Bay are making the most of competitive exchange rates

• Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Thailand, Fiji and the Pacific Islands popular holiday destinations for travellers from the Bay

• Travel Money NZ, a new independent currency retailer, to open store in Bayfair

Demand for travel is on the up with more people from the Bay than ever before making the most of the strong NZ dollar and booking holidays abroad.

Scott McCullough, National Manager Travel Money NZ, part of the Flight Centre Travel Group, says New Zealanders are really making the most of the good exchange rates that are on offer at the moment.

"The NZ dollar has gone from strength to strength in recent months and Kiwis are really making the most of this” says Mr McCullough.

Already this year Flight Centre (NZ) has seen a significant increase in bookings in their local Bay of Plenty stores (Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, Bayfair, Whakatane, Bethlehem and Rotorua). Australia has consistently been in high demand, as well as the United States and the United Kingdom. Thailand, Fiji and the Pacific Islands are also popular holiday destinations for the region.

Mr McCullough says, “if you look at Australia as an example, a popular destination for people in the Bay of Plenty, historically it used to be for every NZD $1 travellers to Australia only got 80 cents, but now they’re getting 90 cents or more, roughly speaking, nearly 12-15 per cent more for their money. We also came very close to parity with the Aussie dollar earlier this year which is monumental.”

Mr McCullough comments that it’s not just Australia that’s seen an uptake in popularity, “Europe, the United States and the United Kingdom have also seen a boom this year with more Kiwis opting to travel further afield and holiday in places where they are seeing their dollar going much further on the ground.”

Mr McCullough remembers when the exchange rate used to be almost double what it is now for the NZD against the Euro.

“It wasn’t all that long ago that you had to pay around $2.50 NZD for 1 Euro, it made it really difficult for Kiwis to justify travelling all of that way. But it’s not like that any longer, with an exchange rate floating around $1.50 NZD to the Euro it’s now possible to have a really awesome holiday in Europe and well worth the trip.”

To make buying foreign currency even easier for people in the Bay of Plenty, Travel Money NZ is opening a new store in Bayfair, Mount Maunganui, at 9am on Saturday May 30. The stand-alone kiosk will be located close to the food court and Flight Centre (NZ) store and is open seven days.

A first for the Bay of Plenty region, Mr McCullough says he’s thrilled to see the new store open.

“We’ve seen an increasing demand in the Bay from locals looking to get the most out of their holidays when travelling abroad and having access to really good foreign exchange rates has a big part to play in that. Due to this demand, Bayfair is the perfect location to open our new Travel Money store and we’re all really excited,” Mr McCullough says.

At Travel Money NZ Bayfair customers will be able to buy and sell foreign cash fee & commission free. Unlike many competitors Travel Money NZ stocks 50+ currencies in store, meaning no ordering and waiting. Their foreign currency exchange rates are backed by a Best Rates Guaranteed, and no fees or commissions are charged on foreign cash transactions. Customers can also transfer money throughout the world in minutes with MoneyGram® international money transfer, purchase a prepaid Multi-currency Cash Passport™ card and purchase travel insurance.

ENDS

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