Best-Rated Travel Agents

Compare travel agents in New Zealand at Canstar Blue. YOU Travel, Eco Travels, Helloworld Travel, Orbit World Travel, House of Travel, Flight Centre and XTravel were compared on Overall Satisfaction, Communication & Advice, Level of Knowledge, Friendliness of Agent and Price of Trip.

See our Ratings Methodology.

Most Satisfied Customers | YOU Travel

YOU Travel is just the ticket for Kiwi travellers, earning top 5-Star ratings across five out of six categories and taking home Canstar Blue’s 2024 Award for Most Satisfied Customers | Travel Agents.

How we rate travel agents

Our review compares travel agents on customer satisfaction, so you can discover what other Kiwis think about our compared travel agents before you go ahead and book a holiday or trip. Think of it like asking hundreds of your friends and family which travel agents they recommend!


Canstar Blue surveyed 1007 Kiwis who had used a travel agent/agency to book a trip within the last two years and asked for their feedback on the travel agent/agency they used.

  • The outcomes reported in these ratings are measured via accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics.

Respondents rate their satisfaction with their travel agent from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:

  • Overall satisfaction: measures consumer satisfaction with a travel agent brand as an individual score NOT a combined total of all criteria.
  • Communication & Advice: the travel agent provides clear and concise advice throughout the booking process, and is readily available to answer any questions.
  • Level of Knowledge: the travel agent displays a thorough knowledge of the destinations and travel options available to customers.
  • Friendliness of Agent: the customer service provided by the travel agent is attentive and friendly.
  • Price of Trip: the cost of the accommodation and travel purchased delivers value and is appropriate to the standard of holiday chosen.

The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall Satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall Satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.

  • Overall Satisfaction is asked as a specific question and represents an individual measure, not a combined total of all criteria.
  • When we cannot determine a clear winner from the criteria for the Overall Satisfaction rating, we will then look at the other criteria measured in the rating.
    • The brand with the highest number of five-star ratings within the supporting criteria will become the five-star recipient in overall satisfaction, and thus win the award. If a clear leader still cannot be determined from the supporting criteria, joint winners will be declared.

Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.

  • YOU Travel
  • Eco Travels
  • Helloworld Travel
  • Orbit Travel
  • House of Travel
  • Flight Centre
  • XTravel


Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.

YOU Travel

Ratings Results

YOU Travel is the clear winner of this year’s Most Satisfied Customers | Travel Agents award. Earning perfect 5-Star ratings across all categories, YOU Travel is also the only brand to earn 5-Stars in any category. Congratulations to the team at You Travel, for such an outstanding result.

Editor’s Notes

YOU Travel is a part of the First Travel Group, New Zealand’s leading independent travel alliance. Boasting 30 Kiwi owned and operated stores across New Zealand, YOU Travel is one of the country’s oldest retail travel brands.

YOU Travel specialises in premium cruise packages, as well as unique travel destinations around the globe. It also offers an extensive corporate service.

For more details on YOU Travel’s range of travel packages and destinations, check out the company’s website.


Eco Travels

Ratings Results

Eco Travels takes out second place on our ratings table, earning an impressive 4-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction. The brand earns further 4-Stars in every other category except for Communication & Advice, for which it earns 3-Stars.

Editor’s Notes

Eco Travel has been providing New Zealanders with great overseas experiences for over 14 years, and offers a seamless and convenient platform to book flights, hotels and other travel services.

Eco Travels allows customers to personalise their travel plans, by allowing them to book hotels, cabs and flights individually. For those who prefer the convenience of a packaged experience, Eco Travels is in the process of offering organised tours and trips.


Helloworld Travel

Ratings Results

Helloworld Travel’s customers are obviously very happy with the level of value and customer service delivered by their choice travel agency brand. Helloworld Travel earns 4-Star ratings in all of the five award categories, including Overall Satisfaction.

Editor’s Notes

Helloworld Travel is an Australian-based travel company that operates over 30 stores across New Zealand. Helloworld Travel offers flights, hotels and accommodation, as well as cruises and holiday packages. Its expert travel professionals are available either online or instore to help you organise and book your travel or holiday plans.


Orbit Travel

Ratings Results

Orbit Travel is the third and final brand on this year’s ratings table to take out a 4-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction. The brand clearly impresses its customers, as it earns a clean sweep of 4-Star ratings across all our award categories.

Editor’s Notes

Kiwi-owned Orbit Travel markets itself as a travel company for businesses, and is best suited to those making group bookings. Orbit Travel is an All-of-Government (AoG) travel management supplier. The brand has a strong commitment to sustainability, as it works in partnership with its AoG clients to achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Orbit Travel features an online booking platform, Orbit Online, which is designed to simplify business travel. Orbit Online is also available as an app for most devices.


House of Travel

Ratings Results

The winner of last year’s Canstar Blue Travel Agents award, House of Travel earns a 3-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction. It scores 3-Stars in two other categories: Communication & Advice and Price of Trip. The brand performs well in the remaining two categories, earning respectable 4-Star ratings.

Editor’s Notes

House of Travel is one of the country’s most recognisable travel agency brands. It combines a comprehensive online presence with over 60 owner-operated offices and 300 specialist consultants across the country.

House of Travel offers travel services from cheap flights through to package deals and cruises. It also offers a free video service, Face2Face, allowing you to talk to a travel consultant and plan your next holiday via a video call, from the comfort of your home.


Flight Centre

Ratings Results

While Flight Centre doesn’t manage to earn a top rating from its customers, it scores a sweep of 3-Star ratings across three categories, which signifies a strong level of consumer satisfaction. The brand scores particularly well for Level of Knowledge and Friendliness of Agent, for which it earns 4-Stars.

Editor’s Notes

Flight Centre is an Australian travel agency that has grown into a global brand. In New Zealand it operates over 25 stores nationwide. Through its website and high-street locations, Flight Centre sells a complete range of holiday products, including cheap flights and hotel deals, package holidays, tours and cruises.


XTravel

Ratings Results

Rounding out our ratings is XTravel, which earns a 3-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction. It’s collection of 3-Star ratings across all but one category indicates that XTravel’s customers are satisfied with its service. The travel agency earns one 4-Star rating, for the Price of Trip.

Editor’s Notes

Based in Central Otago, XTravel has been operating since 2016. XTravel provides travel services for both business and pleasure, with an emphasis on snow and cruise options. For extra peace of mind, the travel agency offers a full 24-hour support service.


 

Other travel agencies

Not all travel agencies in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are some more travel agencies to check out before booking a trip.

  • MANN Travel
  • Travel Associates
  • Webjet

MANN Travel

Editor’s Notes

MANN Travel is an Auckland-based travel agency that offers deals on flights, hotels and accommodation domestically and internationally. MANN Travel focuses on delivering great customer support and provides 24/7 support for travellers.


Travel Associates

Editor’s Notes

Travel Associates has seven boutique agencies across the country. Travel Associates provides bespoke travel plans, tailoring each trip to its customer’s needs.


Webjet

Editor’s Notes

Webjet’s NZ site is designed specifically for New Zealand travellers, and although it doesn’t operate bricks-and-mortar stores, it has a 24/7 helpline manned by experienced travel professionals to help with any problems and to answer queries.

Choosing the Right Travel Agency For You

A holiday is often a trip into the unknown. Indeed, over two-thirds of travellers in our survey (67%) say they always prefer to explore a new holiday destination.

But even if you know where you’re going, there should be no unknowns about your flight and accommodation details.

That’s why great communication and advice from a travel expert is the most important aspect of booking any trip, whether to a domestic destination or abroad.

In this year’s award ratings, over a third of travellers (35%) cite Communication & Advice as the biggest factor influencing their satisfaction with the travel agency they used.

And the importance of experience and knowledge extends even further. For Level of Knowledge (28%) rates well above the price paid for the trip, which was the most important factor for just 15% of respondents.

Overall, here’s how the Kiwi travellers in our research rate the different factors affecting their choice of travel agents:

  • Communication & Advice: 35%
  • Level of Knowledge: 28%
  • Friendliness of Agent: 21%
  • Price of Trip: 15%

About the editor of this page

This report was written by Canstar Content Producer, Caitlin Bingham. Caitlin is an experienced writer whose passion for creativity led her to study communication and journalism. She began her career freelancing as a content writer, before joining the Canstar team.

More Information

Type of travel

International 74%
Domestic 26%

Contact with travel agent

Online 46%
In person 37%
Over the phone 14%

Travel agency use

Some trips 76%
All trips 24%

Frequency of International Travel

Once a year 37%
Every two years 21%
Every three to five years 17%
More than once a year 12%
Less often than every five years 11%
Never been outside of NZ 2%

Preferred choice of accommodation

Hotel 46%
Stay with friends/family 28%
Airbnb 14%
Bed and breakfast 7%
Camping 2%

Favourite travel destinations

Europe/UK 24%
Asia 17%
Australia 16%
Pacific Islands 15%
NZ (domestic) 10%
USA/Canada 10%
Africa 2%
South America 1%

International travel usually for

Sightsee 36%
To relax 30%
Visit family 26%
Visit friends 6%
Business 2%

Usual time (NZ) of travel

Winter 40%
Summer 31%
Spring 15%
Autumn 14%

Reasons for using a travel agent

Knowledge of destination: 48%

Package deals: 45%

It feels safer: 44%

Travel inspiration/ideas: 43%

Better price: 42%

Prefer to deal with ‘real people’: 30%

Too busy/cannot be bothered doing it themselves: 19%

Holiday priorities

Relaxing on an island or at a resort: 32%

Eating and drinking new things: 25%

Exploring museums and heritage sites: 17%

Outdoor adventure activities: 15%

Key statistics:

Took an overseas experience (OE) when younger: 70%

Prefer to travel somewhere never been before: 67%

An OE is a rite of passage for Kiwis: 39%

Prefer to return to somewhere visited before: 33%

Canstar Blue surveyed 5108 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from customers who used a travel agent/agency to book a trip within the last two years, in this case, 1007 New Zealanders. Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criterion.

The past winners from Canstar Blue’s Travel Agents ratings:

  • 2023: House of Travel
  • 2020: House of Travel
  • 2019: Helloworld

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