People planning to join package tours to Australia or New Zealand during the Lunar New Year holiday and winter vacation next year can expect to pay more due to increasing costs for accommodation and tour bus transport in the two countries, a report from the Travel Quality Assurance Association (TQAA) said.
The report, which lists price ranges for various tour packages, showed that fees for package tours to Australia and New Zealand from January to March next year would increase by NT$18,000 compared with the same period this year.
For example, a nine-day tour to the eastern part of Australia varies from about NT$65,000 to NT$117,000. A 10-day tour to both the north and south islands of New Zealand would cost between NT$92,000 and NT$146,000.
Flights to New Zealand are cheaper this quarter — from October to December — because many airlines are offering discounts, which means that travelers will pay about NT$7,000 to NT$10,000 less on tickets, Phoenix Tours International vice president Huang Hsien-tsai (黃賢在) said.
Many airlines have begun offering flights from China to New Zealand, which has led to an increase of Chinese tour groups traveling to the country, he said.
As a result, demand for tour buses and hotels exceeds supply, which has caused tour group fees to rise, he said, adding that travelers scheduling trips during the Lunar New Year holiday or winter vacation would pay about NT$18,000 more than this year.
If people choose to travel outside of the holidays, the tour fees would be similar to last year’s, he said.
Summer in Australia is January to March, making it a peak travel season, Huang said.
Meanwhile, tour group travelers to Japan, the US and Europe are also likely to pay higher tour fees if they travel during the Lunar New Year holiday and winter vacation, the report said.
Fees for tours to Japan are expected to increase by NT$1,500 to NT$3,000 during the Lunar New Year holiday and NT$1,000 to NT$2,000 during other periods, despite the depreciation of the yen, the report said, adding that airlines reserving more seats for independent travelers and rising accommodation and meal costs have also contributed to the hike in tour fees.
Tours to the US and Europe are expected to increase by NT$1,000 to NT$2,000 during the two peak travel periods, the report said, adding that fee increases for tours to Europe are mainly the result of increases in ticket prices.
Nevertheless, there are still travel destinations with relatively low tour fees, the report said.
Tours to the island of Bali in Indonesia are expected to cost NT$3,000 to NT$5,000 less due to the eruption of Mount Agung, while tours to South Korea would drop by NT$2,000 to NT$3,000 and tours to China would decrease by NT$1,000 to NT$3,000, the report said.
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