Bay of Plenty will be rolling out the welcome mat this summer as thousands flock to the region for their holiday.

Air New Zealand Regional Affairs Manager Jason Dawson says more than 33,000 customers will visit the region over the summer holiday period, which will be a welcomed boost for Bay of Plenty tourism and accommodation providers.

Air New Zealand is preparing to fly more than 1.5 million customers around the country between today and January 31 – 400,000 more than the same period last year.

'With Kiwis heading off to their holiday hotspot and international travellers back in Aotearoa, regional centres will benefit from the busy summer ahead.”

According to MBIE, this year to October, international visitors have spent an estimated $43 million in electronic card transactions in the region as New Zealand's borders reopened to the world.

"Communities in regional New Zealand are incredibly important to Air New Zealand and we recognise the role we play in connecting those communities to loved ones, business opportunities, economic growth and employment through tourism”.

Whether visitors are surfers, swimmers, walker or sunbathers, Tauranga offers something for everyone with its long white-sand beaches and a massive range of outdoor adventures as well as a great range of cafes and restaurants.

Air New Zealand's Tauranga lounge team are getting in the festive spirit, serving Christmas ham off the bone, strawberries with whipped cream, fruit mince pies and mini pavlovas to lounge customers between December 21 to 25.

'It's an incredibly busy time for travel. Customers should allow plenty of time to get to the airport, arrive at the very latest 60 minutes before your flight, 90 minutes if you're connecting on to an international flight. Add to that a bit more time to that if you're travelling with pets, oversized bags, or require special assistance.

'Also, if you're connecting onto one of our jet services, please allow plenty of time to get through security.”

Air New Zealand's top tips for being travel-ready this summer can be found the airline's Travel Alerts page.