The road around Lake Hāwea in Otago. Photo: 123RF
In the middle of winter, summer seems like a long way away - and for many, a summer holiday seems so far away it is completely out of reach.
As the cost of living bites into budgets, many Kiwis are likely to stick closer to home, bunk down with relatives, or not go away at all this summer.
But the tourism industry remains optimistic many will still hit the road.
Budget advice services say holidays away have not been an option for many people for a long time. Wellington's Citizens Advice Bureau budget service supports hundreds of people a year.
Manager David Cameron said they have been seeing more homeowners and workers needing help.
He said for many, a summer holiday was just a dream.
"When money is tight, of course one of the things people can certainly do without would be going on a holiday," Cameron said.
"People who come to see us at the budget service, I guess they've already dismissed the whole idea ... they've come to see the budget service because they're having difficulty with their day-to-day whether it's paying the rent or paying their mortgage or even food on the table for their kids."
It could mean people adjusted their holiday plans as they tightened their belts.
"I guess that for their holidays it would be maybe visiting relatives or going to stay with parents for a period. When your disposable income is very tight, I suppose one of the first things you can easily chalk off would be something like going on a holiday."
New Zealand Motor Caravan Association chief executive Bruce Lachore believed camping remained an affordable option for families wanting a trip away.
"Trying to get a hotel these days is horrendous pricing so you think about camping, that's the last bastion for Kiwis to have affordable holidays."
They were getting more families and younger people signing up as members, and were working on affordable family packages in response.
"They're the people that will be affected the most out of the price and the pressures of the economy at the moment ... with interest rates coming off over the next 12 months, the cost of living, so we do expect it to be a bit harder out there for people."
With tough economic times ahead, he said holiday parks needed to ensure their prices appealed to tourists and local travellers.
"They still need to get that mix right of getting the right pricing for domestic because they'll be here for a lot longer, spend more months of the year on the road than international visitors."
Holiday Parks New Zealand chief executive Fergus Brown expected many would still travel, they might just reduce their trip dates to cut costs.
"Holiday parks usually do pretty well on tough economic times. We still have a very wide range so we can offer different products for different budgets."
He has high hopes for the upcoming summer.
"We always get a lot of bookings for the next summer usually at the last summer so when people depart a holiday park, quite often they'll just say 'can you book us in for next year in the same site?'
"We are seeing good bookings for summer this year and we're expecting if we can have some decent weather, we're really expecting a great summer."
Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Rebecca Ingram said New Zealanders were very important to the sector and supported businesses when it really counted when the borders were closed.
"Tourism businesses are in the same situation as the business sector generally, in that they are also facing rising costs and must balance their commitments to their valued staff and other expenses, as well as ensuring they meet the market. They are trying to manage this as best they can and ensure that visitors have valuable experiences," Ingram said.
"We recognise that across the country people might be doing it tougher and might spend more time closer to home this year, and we're confident the tourism industry will work to meet where Kiwis are at."
She recommended anyone planning a summer holiday to book early and direct where possible.
