New research from Jetstar reveals more New Zealanders are embracing spontaneous travel since the pandemic.

New research has revealed New Zealanders are more spontaneous than ever, with data showing Kiwis are increasingly inclined to leave holiday bookings later and travel on a whim. 

The research from Jetstar found that 41 percent of New Zealanders are booking flights closer to their travel date than pre-pandemic, while the number of Kiwis booking flights within a month of travel has more than doubled.

The survey comes as Jetstar is ramping up its domestic and trans-Tasman schedule to reach close to pre-covid levels by July.

More than a third (38 percent) of New Zealanders say they have left for a trip with less than two weeks’ notice in the past year and 57 percent say they would drop everything and head off on a trip immediately if they were given free flights.

The research also found the majority (80 percent) of New Zealanders are more likely to travel domestically, with 36 percent of those people saying it is because they think New Zealand is the best country to explore and almost half (47 percent) saying domestic travel feels less complicated than international travel.

Data from Jetstar bookings reinforces the survey findings, with one in four domestic flights booked between January and March this year made within five days of travel. Domestic travellers are also more likely to stay at their destination longer, with a decrease in the number of people booking short stays and an increase in holidays of between four to seven days.

The most popular destination for Jetstar customers is Queenstown, however, more than half (53 percent) of New Zealanders say they make decisions about the destination of their trip based on the price of flights.

Jetstar currently operates 19 weekly flights into Queenstown from Wellington and Auckland with one-way fares starting from $57 lead-in fares starting at jetstar.com.