Name change
Statistics New Zealand has changed the name of this release from 'External Migration' to 'International Travel and Migration'. This is to better reflect that the release contains statistics on short-term travellers as well as permanent and long-term migrants.
Visitor arrivals
Monthly visitor arrivals
Short-term overseas visitor arrivals to New Zealand numbered 142,400 in June 2008, a decrease of 3,100 (2 percent) from June 2007 (145,500).
While there was a slight decrease in visitor arrivals, the estimated average number of visitors in New Zealand per day was up 8 percent, from an average of 90,200 in June 2007 to 97,400 in June 2008.
Estimated numbers of visitors in the country are calculated from the date of arrival and intended length of stay of sampled visitor arrivals. The average intended stay of visitors who arrived in June 2008 was 18 days, unchanged from June 2007, and the median (half are shorter, and half are longer, than this duration) was 7 days.
Annual visitor arrivals
During the June 2008 year, there were 2.480 million visitor arrivals, up 22,000 (1 percent) from the June 2007 year. A holiday was the main travel reason for 1.209 million visitor arrivals to New Zealand in the June 2008 year, down 4,000 (less than 1 percent) from the previous year. Another 729,800 arrived to visit friends and relatives (up 27,000 or 4 percent) and 266,900 arrived for business (down 4,500 or 2 percent).
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.
Visitors by source country
In June 2008, there were fewer visitor arrivals from the United States (down 1,800 or 12 percent), China (down 1,600 or 24 percent) and Korea (down 1,300 or 18 percent) when compared with June 2007. There were more visitors from Australia (up 1,200 or 2 percent) and South Africa (up 500 or 40 percent).
In the year ended June 2008, there were more visitors from Oceania (up 52,400 or 5 percent) and the Americas (up 4,800 or 2 percent) compared with the June 2007 year. Fewer visitors arrived from Asia (down 34,400 or 7 percent) and Europe (down 5,900 or 1 percent).
Australia (up 47,800 or 5 percent) provided the largest increase in visitor arrivals in the June 2008 year. There were also increases in visitor arrivals from China (up 7,200 or 6 percent), Canada (up 5,100 or 11 percent), South Africa (up 3,700 or 18 percent) and India (up 2,400 or 11 percent).
Decreases in visitor arrivals were recorded for Korea (down 23,100 or 21 percent), Japan (down 12,700 or 10 percent), the United Kingdom (down 10,500 or 3 percent), Taiwan (down 5,800 or 21 percent) and the United States (down 4,900 or 2 percent) in the June 2008 year.
Note: Detailed visitor data will be available in the June 2008 edition of International Visitor Arrivals to New Zealand, which can be ordered on the International visitor arrivals subscription page on the Statistics NZ website.
New Zealand-resident departures
Monthly resident departures
New Zealand residents departed on 186,000 short-term overseas trips in June 2008, down 22,300 (11 percent) from the 208,300 departures in June 2007. However, June 2007 was a record month for resident departures, up 20,500 (11 percent) from the 187,800 departures in June 2006. This is due in part to the earlier end of the second school term in 2007, on Friday 29 June, compared with Friday 4 July in 2008.
There were fewer trips to Australia (down 12,900 or 14 percent), the United Kingdom (down 1,600 or 10 percent), China (down 1,000 or 19 percent) and Thailand (down 900 or 23 percent).
The estimated average number of New Zealand residents who were temporarily overseas during June 2008 was 115,700 per day, down 3 percent from the average of 119,000 in June 2007. Estimates of the number of residents overseas are calculated from the date of departure and intended length of absence of sampled resident departures. The average intended absence of residents who departed in June 2008 was 22 days, up from 21 days in June 2007, and the median was 11 days.
Annual resident departures
In the June 2008 year, there were 1.977 million resident departures, up 53,200 (3 percent) from the June 2007 year. There were more resident departures to Oceania (up 15,000 or 1 percent), Asia (up 15,000 or 6 percent), the Americas (up 7,300 or 6 percent) and Europe (up 6,900 or 4 percent).
There were more trips to France (up 7,200 or 59 percent), China (up 5,800 or 11 percent), Australia (up 4,900 or 1 percent), the Cook Islands (up 4,700 or 10 percent), the United States (up 4,600 or 5 percent) and New Caledonia (up 4,000 or 52 percent). Australia remains the main destination for short-term overseas trips, accounting for half of New Zealand resident departures in the year ended June 2008.
The 96,500 trips to Fiji in the year ended June 2008 were down 7,300 (7 percent) from the previous year. Despite recent decreases in departures to Fiji, it was still the second most popular destination for overseas trips by New Zealand residents in the June 2008 year, followed by the United Kingdom (94,600) and the United States (92,500).
A holiday was the main travel reason for 830,000 New Zealand residents who departed in the June 2008 year, up 17,800 (2 percent) from the previous year. Another 625,300 were departing to visit friends and relatives (up 29,400 or 5 percent). Departures for business purposes (288,600) were unchanged from the year ended June 2007.
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.
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. Included in the former group are 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 departures exceeded arrivals by 600 in June 2008, compared with a net PLT outflow of 400 in June 2007.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, there was a net PLT inflow of 500 in June 2008. The net PLT series averaged about 500 between January 2007 and May 2008.
In June 2008, there was a net outflow of 2,900 PLT migrants to Australia, up from the outflow of 2,200 in June 2007. There were net inflows of 400 migrants from the Philippines, 300 from India, and 200 from South Africa, China and Fiji in June 2008.
Annual PLT migration
In the year ended June 2008, there were 85,200 PLT arrivals, up 2,500 (3 percent) from the June 2007 year. Over the same period, there were 80,500 PLT departures, up 7,900 (11 percent). As a result, net PLT migration was 4,700 in the June 2008 year, down from 10,100 in the June 2007 year. However, the latest figure is above the recent low of 4,600 in the February 2008 year.
The net PLT migration gain of 4,700 in the year ended June 2008 is below the annual average of 11,800 recorded for the December years from 1990–2007. Net PLT migration varied substantially within this 18-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 generally experienced during 1998–2001, with the highest being a net loss of 13,200 people recorded in the February 2001 year.
Annual PLT migration by citizenship
A net inflow of 40,000 non-New Zealand citizens and a net outflow of 35,300 New Zealand citizens were recorded in the year ended June 2008. The majority of the net outflow of New Zealand citizens was to Australia (32,200) followed by the United Kingdom (800), and the United Arab Emirates and Canada (both 400).
Australia and the United Kingdom are traditionally the main destinations for emigrating New Zealand citizens. An article on PLT departure rates of New Zealand citizens, particularly to these countries, has recently been released on the International travel and migration articles page of the Statistics NZ website. The article investigates how PLT departures of New Zealand citizens compare over time if changes in the size and age structure of New Zealand's population are taken into account.
Compared with the June 2007 year, PLT arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens were up 3,000 and PLT arrivals of New Zealand citizens were down 400. There were 6,500 more PLT departures of New Zealand citizens and 1,400 more PLT departures of non-New Zealand citizens. Changes in non-New Zealand citizen departures are often related to changes in non-New Zealand citizen arrivals a few years earlier. Similarly, changes in New Zealand citizen arrivals are often related to changes in New Zealand citizen departures a few years earlier.
Annual PLT migration by country
In the year ended June 2008, there was a net inflow of 7,300 migrants from the United Kingdom, down from 9,400 the previous year. Net PLT migration from the United Kingdom has fluctuated in recent years, from an outflow of 800 in the June 2001 year, to an inflow of 10,500 in the year ended June 2006. The net inflow from India (4,400) had increased from 2,800 in the June 2007 year and 2,000 in the June 2006 year, but is still down from the recent peak inflow of 6,100 in the June 2003 year. There were also net PLT inflows from the Philippines (3,500), Fiji (2,600), South Africa (2,400), China (2,200), and Germany (1,600) in the June 2008 year.
The net PLT outflow to Australia was 31,900 in the June 2008 year, compared with 25,000 in the June 2007 year. This is the highest annual net outflow to Australia since the net outflow of 32,000 in the May 1989 year. There were earlier peaks in the January 1989 year (33,700) and the December 1979 year (33,400).
The net outflow to Australia was spread across both age and occupation groups. Migrants aged 15–29 years accounted for 40 percent (12,700) of the net outflow to Australia in the June 2008 year, while the 0–14 year age group (7,300) and 30–44 year age group (7,400) both contributed 23 percent of the outflow. A further 13 percent (4,000) were aged 45–59 years, and the remaining 1 percent (400) were aged 60 years and over.
Net outflows to Australia were recorded in each broad occupation group, led by professionals and service and sales workers (both 2,100) and trades workers (2,000). There was also a net outflow to Australia of 13,100 people without an occupation, of which most were children or students.
Split PLT data
Statistics NZ began separately identifying permanent arrivals from long-term arrivals in July 2003 (departing migrants are also separately identified). Within the long-term group, a further distinction is made between overseas visitors coming to stay in New Zealand for 12 months or more (long-term overseas visitors) and New Zealand residents returning after an overseas stay of 12 months or more (long-term New Zealand residents).
The classification of a person as a permanent or long-term migrant depends on that person's responses to the questions on the arrival and departure cards. Both cards require completion of one of two sections, depending on whether or not the person feels that they live or have lived in New Zealand. The choice of which section to complete is up to the individual, and the answer may result in a person being misclassified – usually as a permanent migrant instead of a long-term migrant.
Of the 6,400 PLT arrivals in June 2008, there were 2,100 permanent migrants and 3,100 long-term visitors. A further 1,100 arrivals were returning long-term New Zealand residents.
INFOS EMI series redevelopment
Statistics NZ has recently made changes to the INFOS External Migration (EMI) group. Some discontinued and duplicated families are no longer published, the titles of all families have been modified, and footnotes have been added. Series identifiers have not changed. More details are available on the INFOS – database changes webpage.
A project is also underway to replace the EMI group with a new group called International Travel and Migration (ITM). This will allow the creation of a more appropriate naming structure for the group, and also allow new series to be added and unnecessary series removed. It is hoped that the usefulness of INFOS as a complete data source will be improved. Further information about the redevelopment can be obtained from the contacts below.
For technical information contact:
Nick Thomson or Ian Richards
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: demography@stats.govt.nz