Visitor arrivals
Monthly visitor arrivals
Short-term overseas visitor arrivals to New Zealand numbered 341,300 in December 2009, the highest number of visitor arrivals ever recorded for a month. The total was up 19,100 (6 percent) from the previous high of 322,200 in December 2008. Visitor arrivals have increased in seven of the last nine months, compared with the same months of the previous year.
The estimated average number of visitors in New Zealand per day was 192,500 in December 2009, up 5 percent from December 2008 (182,800). The Christmas period is a popular time to visit friends and relatives. This purpose accounted for 81,700 of the visitors in New Zealand per day in December 2009, up from 77,400 in December 2008. Holiday visitors averaged 77,500 per day in December 2009, up from 72,000 the previous December.
Monthly visitors by source country
Visitor arrivals from Australia were up 14,000 (11 percent) in December 2009, compared with December 2008. This continues large monthly increases which began in April 2009. A holiday (up 8,500 or 17 percent), visiting friends and relatives (up 5,100 or 7 percent), and business (up 1,000 or 12 percent) were the main travel purposes contributing to the increase from Australia in December 2009.
There were increases in visitors from all Australian states and territories, with the largest from New South Wales (up 5,500 or 12 percent), Queensland (up 3,900 or 10 percent), Victoria (up 2,200 or 8 percent), and Western Australia (up 1,100 or 10 percent).
The 26,400 visitor arrivals from the United States in December 2009 were a record from that country for a December month, up 2,800 (12 percent) from December 2008, and more than the previous December high of 25,900 in 2003. The increase was recorded despite 500 fewer cruise ship passenger arrivals from the United States, compared with December 2008.
December 2009 also saw increases in visitor arrivals from Singapore (up 1,200 or 22 percent), France (up 700 or 26 percent), and India (up 700 or 25 percent).
In contrast, there were fewer visitor arrivals from China (down 2,300 or 16 percent) and South Africa (down 900 or 21 percent), compared with December 2008.
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
There were 2.458 million visitor arrivals in the December 2009 year, similar to 2008 (2.459 million) and fewer than the 2.466 million visitor arrivals in 2007.
A holiday was the main travel reason for 1.185 million visitors to New Zealand in 2009, up 1,200 (less than 1 percent) from the previous year. Another 788,000 arrived to visit friends and relatives (up 45,000 or 6 percent), and 231,400 arrived for business (down 23,000 or 9 percent).
Annual visitors by source country
There were 1.083 million visitor arrivals from Australia in 2009, up 106,500 (11 percent) from 2008. However, fewer visitors came from the United Kingdom (down 26,700 or 9 percent), Korea (down 26,100 or 33 percent), Japan (down 24,100 or 23 percent), the United States (down 14,600 or 7 percent), and China (down 10,100 or 9 percent).
Visitor arrivals from Australia have more than doubled since 1999 (523,400). In contrast, the number of visitor arrivals from Japan (78,400) in 2009 was less than half the annual high (174,800) recorded in the January 2003 year. Similarly, the number of visitor arrivals from Korea (52,900) was less than half the annual high (130,700) recorded in the April 1997 year.
Departures of New Zealand residents
Monthly resident departures
New Zealand residents departed on 184,500 short-term overseas trips in December 2009, down 2,800 (1 percent) from the 187,300 departures in December 2008. Both figures are well below the December month high of 199,700 departures by New Zealand residents in 2007.
In December 2009, New Zealand residents took more trips to Australia (up 1,700 or 2 percent) and Fiji (up 800 or 12 percent) than in December 2008. They took fewer trips to Hong Kong (down 1,000 or 36 percent) and India (down 800 or 16 percent).
The estimated average number of New Zealand residents who were temporarily overseas during December 2009 was 121,200 per day, down 2 percent from the average of 123,700 in December 2008. People who were primarily visiting friends and relatives accounted for just over half (64,300) of the December 2009 average.
Annual resident departures
Short-term departures of New Zealand residents in the December 2009 year numbered 1.918 million, down 48,800 (2 percent) from 2008.
Trips to Australia (944,300), the most popular destination, were down 5,300 (less than 1 percent) from the previous year. There were also fewer trips to Fiji (down 7,100 or 7 percent), the United Kingdom (down 5,700 or 6 percent), the United States (down 5,300 or 6 percent), and New Caledonia (down 3,700 or 34 percent). However, there were more trips to Samoa (up 3,700 or 10 percent).
A holiday was the main travel reason for 772,000 New Zealand residents who departed in 2009, down 48,100 (6 percent) from the previous year. Another 669,100 departed to visit friends and relatives (up 38,300 or 6 percent). Departures for business purposes (256,200) were down 25,000 (9 percent) from 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 1,400 in December 2009, compared with 100 in December 2008. There were 1,400 (18 percent) fewer PLT departures, including 1,300 fewer departures to Australia. Since February 2009, PLT departures have fallen by at least 1,000 each month compared with the same month of the previous year.
PLT arrivals were down 100 from December 2008, although there were 200 more PLT arrivals of New Zealand citizens.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, PLT arrivals exceeded PLT departures by 1,700 in December 2009, unchanged from November 2009, and similar to the average of 1,900 experienced since February 2009.
In December 2009, there were net inflows of migrants from the United Kingdom (1,300), India, Samoa, and China (each 200). There was a net outflow of 1,100 PLT migrants to Australia, the lowest for a December month since 2003, and a decrease from the net outflows of 2,600 in December 2008 and 2,500 in December 2007. There was also a net outflow of 300 migrants to Korea in December 2009.
Annual PLT migration
Net migration was 21,300 in the December 2009 year, compared with 3,800 in 2008. The increase in net migration was due to fewer departures. The 65,200 PLT departures in 2009 were down 18,500 (22 percent) from 2008. Over the same period, there were 86,400 PLT arrivals, down 1,100 (1 percent). The latest annual net migration total is the highest since the June 2004 year (22,000).
The net PLT migration gain of 21,300 in 2009 was higher than the annual average of 11,900 for the December years 1990–2009. Net PLT migration varied substantially within this 20-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 2009, there were net PLT inflows from the United Kingdom (9,100), India (6,000), China (3,800), the Philippines (2,300), and Fiji (each 2,200).
The net PLT outflow to Australia was 18,000 in 2009, down from a record net outflow of 35,400 in 2008. The latest net outflow resulted from 32,800 PLT departures to Australia, partly offset by 14,800 PLT arrivals from Australia. Almost 9 in every 10 PLT departures to Australia were New Zealand citizens (28,600). Of the PLT arrivals from Australia, two-thirds were New Zealand citizens (10,000), similar to levels observed over the past decade.
Annual PLT migration by citizenship
A net inflow of 36,700 non-New Zealand citizens and a net outflow of 15,500 New Zealand citizens were recorded in 2009.
PLT arrivals of New Zealand citizens numbered 26,100 in 2009, above the average of 23,500 recorded for the 1979–2009 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 41,600 PLT departures of New Zealand citizens in 2009, down from 60,600 the previous December 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. At 60,300, arrivals in 2009 were down by 3,600 from 2008.
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 23,600 PLT departures of non-New Zealand citizens in 2009, up 600 from 2008.
Annual PLT migration by permit type
In 2009, 30,000 PLT arrivals were Australian or New Zealand citizens who did not require a permit to remain in New Zealand. Of the 56,400 PLT arrivals who did require a permit, 21,900 arrived on work permits, 15,700 arrived on student permits, 13,800 arrived on residence permits, and 4,500 arrived on visitor permits. Compared with 2008, there were more PLT arrivals on student permits (up 400), but fewer arrivals on work permits (down 2,100), visitor permits (down 800), and residence permits (down 700). The majority of residence approvals in recent years have been granted onshore, to people who arrived on other permit types.
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 NZ has adopted 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 NZ website. As a result, there are new occupation tables on Infoshare, with details given on the Infoshare data changes by date webpage.
For technical information contact:
Nicholas Thomson
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: demography@stats.govt.nz
Next release ...
International Travel and Migration: January 2010 will be released on 1 March 2010.