Visitor arrivals
Monthly visitor arrivals
Short-term overseas visitor arrivals to New Zealand numbered 172,400 in September 2009, up 14,700 or 9 percent from September 2008 (157,700). This figure exceeds the previous high for a September month (168,800 in 2007).
The estimated average number of visitors in New Zealand per day was down 2 percent to 99,000 in September 2009, from 100,500 in September 2008. The average length of stay of visitor arrivals was 20 days in September 2009, unchanged from September 2008, while the median length of stay (half stay shorter, and half stay longer than this duration) decreased from 9 to 8 days.
Monthly visitors by source country
In September 2009, visitor arrivals from Australia were up 12,600 (15 percent) compared with September 2008. A holiday (up 9,100 or 25 percent) and visiting friends and relatives (up 4,400 or 17 percent) were the main travel purposes contributing to this increase. However, there were fewer business travellers (down 500 or 4 percent).
There were increases from all Australian states and territories, with the largest increases coming from Queensland (up 5,300 or 22 percent), Victoria (up 3,200 or 18 percent), and New South Wales (up 1,700 or 6 percent).
Although visitors from the United States were up 900 (10 percent) in September 2009, compared with September 2008, the numbers were still slightly lower than the level in September 2007.
There was also an increase in visitors from China (up 800 or 15 percent), the first increase since March 2009. Despite this increase, arrivals were still 1,900 lower than arrivals from China in September 2007. Between June and November 2008, there were large decreases in monthly visitor arrivals from China following the earthquake there in May and the Beijing Olympic Games in August.
In contrast, there were significantly fewer visitor arrivals from Korea (down 1,500 or 33 percent). Decreases of at least 1,000 visitors from Korea have been recorded each month since September 2008. The drop in visitors from Japan (down 200 or 4 percent) in September 2009 was the lowest monthly decrease since July 2008.
There was also a decrease in visitor arrivals from South Africa (down 500 or 30 percent) in September 2009.
Note:
Provisional international travel statistics, including weekly and four-weekly visitor arrival data, are available on the Statistics NZ website. This data is updated each week with the most recently available information on visitor arrivals from 10 major source countries.
Annual visitor arrivals
During the September 2009 year, there were 2.430 million visitor arrivals, down 43,900 (2 percent) from the September 2008 year. A holiday was the main travel reason for 1.168 million visitors to New Zealand in the September 2009 year, down 28,000 (2 percent) from the previous year. Another 766,900 arrived to visit friends and relatives (up 31,200 or 4 percent), and 228,900 arrived for business (down 34,500 or 13 percent).
Annual visitors by source country
There were 1.045 million visitor arrivals from Australia in the September 2009 year, up 77,800 (8 percent) compared with the September 2008 year. However, fewer visitors came from Japan (down 32,500 or 29 percent), Korea (down 31,700 or 37 percent), the United Kingdom (down 29,600 or 10 percent), the United States (down 17,300 or 8 percent), and China (down 13,800 or 12 percent).
The number of visitor arrivals from Japan (79,700) in the September 2009 year was less than half the annual high (174,800) recorded in the January 2003 year. Similarly, the number of visitor arrivals from Korea (55,000) was less than half the annual high (130,700) recorded in the April 1997 year.
Note: Detailed visitor data will be available in the September 2009 edition of International Visitor Arrivals to New Zealand, which can be ordered on the Order and subscribe page on the Statistics NZ website.
Departures of New Zealand residents
Monthly resident departures
New Zealand residents departed on 193,300 short-term overseas trips in September 2009, up 1,200 (1 percent) on September 2008. September 2009 is the second consecutive month in which departures of New Zealand residents have been greater than the same month of the previous year, after nine months of decline.
In September 2009, there were more trips to Australia (up 3,200 or 4 percent). There were also more trips to Fiji (up 1,700 or 16 percent), and India (up 700 or 47 percent). However, there were fewer trips to the United States (down 1,900), France (down 600), and Canada and Hong Kong (each down 500), with the percentage drop for the four countries varying from 16 to 26 percent, respectively.
The estimated average number of New Zealand residents who were temporarily overseas during September 2009 was 114,900 per day, down 3 percent from the average of 118,800 in September 2008. The average intended absence (17 days) of residents who departed in September 2009, and the median (10 days), were both unchanged from September 2008.
Annual resident departures
Short-term departures of New Zealand residents in the September 2009 year numbered 1.917 million, down 58,700 (3 percent) from the September 2008 year.
Trips to Australia (940,900), the most popular destination, were down 9,300 (1 percent) from the previous year. There were also fewer trips to Fiji (down 7,800 or 8 percent), the United States (down 7,300 or 8 percent), and the United Kingdom (down 5,400 or 6 percent).
A holiday was the main travel reason for 781,000 New Zealand residents who departed in the September 2009 year, down 44,100 (5 percent) from the previous year. Another 660,200 departed to visit friends and relatives (up 32,100 or 5 percent). Departures for business purposes (256,900) were down 30,000 (10 percent) from the year ended September 2008.
Note: Provisional international travel statistics, including weekly and four-weekly resident departure data, are available on the Statistics NZ website. This data is updated each week with the most recently available information on resident departures to 10 major destination countries.
Permanent and long-term migration
Definition
Permanent and long-term (PLT) arrivals include people who arrive in New Zealand intending to stay for a period of 12 months or more (or permanently), plus New Zealand residents returning after an absence of 12 months or more. The former group may include people with New Zealand residency, as well as students and holders of work permits. PLT departures include New Zealand residents departing for an intended period of 12 months or more (or permanently), plus overseas visitors departing New Zealand after a stay of 12 months or more.
Monthly PLT migration
PLT arrivals exceeded departures by 3,100 in September 2009, compared with 1,700 in September 2008. There were 1,700 (29 percent) fewer PLT departures, including 1,500 fewer departures to Australia and 200 fewer to the United Kingdom. Monthly PLT departures have fallen by at least 1,000 compared with the same month of the previous year since February 2009.
PLT arrivals were down 300 from September 2008, resulting from 400 fewer arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens, partly offset by 100 more arrivals of New Zealand citizens. Arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens have been declining since April 2009.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, PLT arrivals exceeded PLT departures by 1,800 in September 2009, up from 1,600 in August 2009, and similar to levels experienced since February 2009.
In September 2009, there were net inflows of migrants from the United Kingdom (1,200), India (400), and China (300). There was a net outflow of 700 PLT migrants to Australia, the lowest outflow to Australia for a September month since 2003, and a decrease from the outflows of 2,400 in September 2008 and 1,800 in September 2007.
Annual PLT migration
In the year ended September 2009, there were 87,200 PLT arrivals, up 600 (1 percent) from the September 2008 year. Over the same period, there were 70,200 PLT departures, down 12,100 (15 percent). As a result, net PLT migration was 17,000 in the September 2009 year, up from 4,400 in the September 2008 year. The latest figure is the highest annual net migration total since the September 2004 year (17,800).
The net PLT migration gain of 17,000 in the year ended September 2009 was higher than the annual average of 11,400 for the December years 1990–2008. Net PLT migration varied substantially within this 19-year period. The net gain peaked at 30,200 in the April 1996 year and again at 42,500 in the May 2003 year. Net outflows were experienced during most of 1998–2001, with the largest being a net loss of 13,200 people in the February 2001 year.
Annual PLT migration by country
In the year ended September 2009, there were net PLT inflows from the United Kingdom (9,200), India (5,900), China (3,600), the Philippines (2,700), Fiji (2,600), South Africa (1,700), and Germany (1,500).
The net PLT outflow to Australia was 23,100 in the September 2009 year, compared with a net outflow of 33,900 in the September 2008 year. The annual net outflow to Australia has been decreasing since the record highs of 35,400 in the December 2008 and January 2009 years. The latest net outflow resulted from 37,400 PLT departures to Australia, partly offset by 13,200 PLT arrivals from Australia. Almost 9 in every 10 PLT departures to Australia were New Zealand citizens (32,900). Of the PLT arrivals from Australia, two-thirds were New Zealand citizens (9,500), similar to levels observed over the past decade.
Annual PLT migration by citizenship
A net inflow of 38,200 non-New Zealand citizens and a net outflow of 21,200 New Zealand citizens were recorded in the year ended September 2009.
PLT arrivals of New Zealand citizens numbered 25,600 in the September 2009 year, above the average of 23,400 recorded for the 1979–2008 December years, but below peaks in the March 1991 year (29,600) and the October 2003 year (27,800). Arrivals of New Zealand citizens tend to show relatively little variation year-to-year, and the variation that does occur often follows trends in departures of New Zealand citizens a few years earlier.
PLT departures of New Zealand citizens have shown much more annual variation than arrivals of New Zealand citizens. The highest number of departures of New Zealand citizens was 64,300 in the October 1979 year, but by the January 1984 year, this had decreased to a low of 24,400. There were 46,700 PLT departures of New Zealand citizens in the September 2009 year, down 12,900 from the previous year.
PLT arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens were less than 30,000 a year between 1979 and 1992, then doubled to reach a peak of 58,800 in the July 1996 year. Another peak, of 72,800, was reached in the February 2003 year. The changes in arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens reflect changes in arrivals of temporary workers (including working holidaymakers) and overseas students staying for 12 months or more, as well as arrivals for residence. Although arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens have generally been increasing since 2005, the 61,600 arrivals in the September 2009 year were down 1,800 from the September 2008 year.
PLT departures of non-New Zealand citizens have generally been increasing since 1984, corresponding with the general increase in arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens. There were 23,400 PLT departures of non-New Zealand citizens in the September 2009 year, up 800 from the September 2008 year.
Annual PLT migration by permit type
In the September 2009 year, 29,500 PLT arrivals were Australian or New Zealand citizens who did not require a permit to remain in New Zealand. Of the 57,700 PLT arrivals who did require a permit, 22,300 arrived on work permits, 16,000 arrived on student permits, 14,100 arrived on residence permits, and 4,800 arrived on visitor permits. Compared with the September 2008 year, there were more PLT arrivals on student permits (up 1,000), but fewer arrivals on residence permits (down 700). The majority of residence approvals in recent years have been granted onshore, to people who arrived on other permit types.
While arrivals on work permits in the September 2009 year were down 900 from the previous year, they have decreased by 1,700 in the combined six months from April to September 2009, compared with the same six months in 2008.
Recent international travel and migration articles
Statistics NZ has recently released a number of articles on international travel and migration topics. These can be accessed on the International travel and migration articles page on the Statistics NZ website. The most recent releases are:
Occupation data
From October 2009, Statistics New Zealand will be adopting the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) for classifying the occupations of permanent and long-term migrants. A discussion of the reasons for, and implications of, the changes is on the Statistics New Zealand website.
Availability of data on Infoshare
Statistics NZ has completed a review of international travel and migration outputs available on Infoshare (www.stats.govt.nz/infoshare), a free-of-charge online tool that provides access to a range of time-series data. The review was to ensure information remains relevant and easily accessible. A new international travel and migration group (ITM) is now available and can be found under 'Tourism' on the 'Browse' page of the Infoshare database. The ITM group has replaced the external migration (EMI) group, which means that users will no longer be able to extract EMI data. To help users move from EMI to ITM outputs, a webpage called International travel and migration data on Infoshare has been established to provide a concordance between EMI and ITM outputs, as well as information on the data available in ITM.
For technical information contact:
Nick Thomson or Ian Richards
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: demography@stats.govt.nz
Next release ...
International Travel and Migration: October 2009 will be released on 23 November 2009.