‘People are champing at the bit to get out of New Zealand and travelling again,’ he says. ‘Most of the group were from our loyal database but we did have a couple of people travelling with us for the first time as a result of referrals.’

He says that a lot of the guests on tour, having experienced how safe it was, were left wondering why more New Zealanders are not travelling.

Some of the group said they were hoping to travel more in the near future and a couple of women have already booked with Maher for a Kenya and Tanzania trip in September.

‘That said, we realise there are still people who are more conservative and nervous about going offshore, some are saying they are waiting for a couple of years,’ says Richards.

He says Maher continues to have success with its New Zealand tours and will continue with the domestic option for customers who want to travel in this country. The company is also looking at the inbound market.

‘Along with that we’ve got 15 people heading to Austria and Switzerland in August and 22 people on a Northern territory and Western Australia tour in July. So business is picking up.’