This Airline Will Choose Your Destination for a ‘Mystery’ Vacation

Air New Zealand is luring back travelers with a sense of mystery. Since the nation quickly took action and controlled the coronavirus, domestic travel has been permitted since June, so the airline has launched a “Mystery Breaks” package in which passengers won’t know where they’re headed until two days before departure.

The package includes a round-trip domestic flight to any of the carrier’s 20 New Zealand destinations — including Auckland, Gisborne, Hamilton, New Plymouth, and Wellington on the North Island or Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown, and Timaru on the South Island — as well as a stay in an Accor hotel.

Travelers can choose from three levels: Great Mystery Break, which starts at $599 per person for two nights and includes a three- to four-star hotel, daily breakfast, and return hotel transfers; Deluxe Mystery Break, which starts at $699 per person for two nights and includes a four- to four-and-a-half-star hotel, daily breakfast, and Avis rental car; and Luxury Mystery Break, starting at $1,629 per person for two nights with a five-star hotel, daily breakfast and dinner, and a luxury class Avis rental car.

The only other choice in the travelers’ hands is the ability to eliminate one city where they don’t want to fly.

Air New Zealand is hoping the package will encourage residents to explore the nation again. The package also allows for flexibility, including no change fees for travel through the end of March 2021. Additionally, they’re offering vouchers for the vacations to be bought as a gift, just in time for the holidays.

To date, New Zealand has had 1,887 cases and 25 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, relatively low for a nation of about five million.

The lack of global travel has hit the island nation hard, since tourism is the country’s biggest export industry, accounting for 20.4% of total exports, according to New Zealand’s Tourism Industry Aotearoa. Meanwhile, the annual domestic tourism spend is $23.7 billion. Among the other ideas being put forth to jumpstart the tourism industry is a $200 domestic travel card for every Kiwi.