Aussie dollar ignites travel bug

LYNORE Smith’s spontaneous decision to book a holiday to Vietnam yesterday was spurred on by the strength of the Australian dollar.And she wasn’t the only one.Overseas and domestic travel enquiries have been climbing as fast as the Australian dollar.Yesterday the Aussie dollar was trading well over 109 US cents – a historical 30 year high.

Mrs Smith said she booked her trip on the spur of the moment.“It was a spontaneous decision, I saw it advertised and the price was too good to refuse,” she said.Mrs Smith and husband Shane will enjoy a personally escorted tour with 24 other holiday-makers in September.

They will spend two and a half weeks travelling Vietnam, stopping over in Cambodia and Singapore.“I was attracted to Vietnam for the scenery, the food and the culture.”Harvey World Travel owner Steven Boxall said, like Mrs Smith, many locals were getting in while the price was right.

“We’ve certainly seen many more people enquiring about overseas holidays in recent months but we are still seeing a strong demand for Australian travel as many local operators around Australia are meeting the market offering special deals,” he said.

Mr Boxall said the popular destinations that people were choosing were the USA, Bali, Vietnam, Europe and Africa.Closer to home Hamilton Island was offering excellent standby rates for locals.Mr Boxall said travel was looking good with so many countries and currencies directly linked to the US dollar.

“I’ve recently visited Vietnam and was surprised when our local guide said that the buying power of the Aussie dollar has close to doubled in just two years.”Mr Boxall said some families could finally afford the holiday they’ve always dreamed about.

“A holiday to the US with flights from Mackay and five nights accommodation at present is under $2000 per person – the family dream of taking the kids to Disneyland is now a reality,” Mr Boxall said.“The fact is that the world over may never be cheaper than right now for Australians.”

Source = dailymercury.com.au