Working holidays in New Zealand

The modern day Working Holiday is a rite of passage, a break after study, military service, a relationship breakdown or perhaps just an opportunity for a change and the chance to live and work in a distant country. In 2009 some 32 schemes allowed 38,946 Working Holidaymakers to come to New Zealand. The schemes are generally reciprocal arangements between two nations that allow young people to work and holiday in each other's countries. This book discovers who these travellers are, what work and holiday experiences they had and their motivations for coming to New Zealand. From a policy perspective the intentions of the schemes are compared with the actualities of the scheme, as reported by Working Holidaymakers, employers and community members. Working Holidaymakers contribute both as a source of labour to many industries and as significant consumers of tourism product. Consequently this book is of interest to the academic community, government and industry groups such as horticultural and tourism.