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

And Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Thailand, Fiji and the Pacific Islands are the most popular holiday destinations.

Flight Centre Tauranga assistant manager Jacqui Addison with some of the holiday destinations on offer. Photo: Tracy Hardy

Travel Money NZ national manager Scott McCullough, 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 Scott.

The New Zealand dollar sits at 93cents with the Australian dollar and 72 cents with the American dollar.

Already this year Flight Centre has seen a significant increase in bookings in Bay 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.

'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.”

But he adds 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.”

Scott remembers when the exchange rate used to be almost double what it is now for the NZ dollar 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 cope with the added demand for foreign currency Travel Money NZ is opening a new store in Bayfair, Mount Maunganui.

The stand-alone kiosk will be located close to the food court and Flight Centre store and is open seven days.

A first for the Bay of Plenty region, which Scott is thrilled to see.

'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.”