International Travel and Migration: August 2009

Visitor arrivals

Monthly visitor arrivals

Short-term overseas visitor arrivals to New Zealand numbered 161,100 in August 2009. This figure is down 1,400 or 1 percent from August 2008 (162,500).

The estimated average number of visitors in New Zealand per day was down 7 percent to 100,000 in August 2009, from 107,800 in August 2008. The average length of stay of visitor arrivals decreased from 18 days in August 2008 to 17 days in August 2009, while the median length of stay (half stay shorter, and half stay longer than this duration) increased from 7 to 8 days.

Monthly visitors by source country

In August 2009, visitor arrivals from Australia were up 9,200 (12 percent) compared with August 2008. A holiday (up 8,600 or 24 percent) and visiting friends and relatives (up 2,200 or 10 percent) were the main travel purposes contributing to this increase. However, there were fewer business travellers (down 1,300 or 9 percent).

By Australian state of residence, the increase came from New South Wales (up 3,600 or 13 percent), Queensland (up 3,400 or 16 percent), and Victoria (up 2,200 or 13 percent).

Although there was an increase in visitors from the United States (up 700 or 7 percent) in August 2009, this returned numbers to the level seen in August 2007.

In contrast, there were significantly fewer visitor arrivals from Japan (down 3,500 or 39 percent), Korea (down 2,100 or 34 percent), and China (down 1,900 or 29 percent) in August 2009. Visitor arrivals from Japan and China have dropped sharply since concerns over the worldwide H1N1 influenza outbreak emerged in late April 2009. Large decreases in visitor arrivals from Korea were being recorded before the H1N1 outbreak.

There were also decreases in visitor arrivals from the United Kingdom (down 1,400 or 12 percent) and South Africa (down 600 or 38 percent) in August 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 August 2009 year, there were 2.410 million visitor arrivals, down 69,700 (3 percent) from the August 2008 year. A holiday was the main travel reason for 1.157 million visitors to New Zealand in the August 2009 year, down 47,600 (4 percent) from the previous year. Another 762,600 arrived to visit friends and relatives (up 27,200 or 4 percent), and 230,200 arrived for business (down 34,000 or 13 percent).

Annual visitors by source country

There were 1.033 million visitor arrivals from Australia in the August 2009 year, up 62,900 (6 percent) compared with the August 2008 year. However, fewer visitors came from Japan (down 34,100 or 30 percent), Korea (down 32,200 or 36 percent), the United Kingdom (down 30,200 or 10 percent), the United States (down 19,400 or 9 percent), and China (down 17,300 or 14 percent).

The number of visitor arrivals from Japan (79,900) in the August 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 (56,600) was less than half the annual high (130,700) recorded in the April 1997 year.

Note: Detailed visitor data will be available in the August 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 176,300 short-term overseas trips in August 2009, unchanged from August 2008. August 2009 is the first month since October 2008 in which departures of New Zealand residents have not been lower than the same month of the previous year.

In August 2009, there were more trips to Australia (up 3,600 or 4 percent), boosted by travel to attend the Bledisloe Cup held on 22 August in Sydney. There were also more trips to Indonesia (up 800 or 67 percent). However, there were fewer trips to the United States (down 1,400 or 15 percent) and the United Kingdom (down 900 or 9 percent).

The estimated average number of New Zealand residents who were temporarily overseas during August 2009 was 113,500 per day, down 5 percent from the average of 119,700 in August 2008. The average intended absence of residents who departed in August 2009 was 18 days, the same as in August 2008. The median was 9 days, down from 10 days in August 2008.

 

Annual resident departures

Short-term departures of New Zealand residents in the August 2009 year numbered 1.916 million, down 76,400 (4 percent) from the August 2008 year.

Trips to Australia (937,700), the most popular destination, were down 22,500 (2 percent) from the previous year. There were also fewer trips to Fiji (down 10,300 or 10 percent), France (down 7,300 or 36 percent), and the United Kingdom (down 6,800 or 7 percent).

A holiday was the main travel reason for 782,600 New Zealand residents who departed in the August 2009 year, down 56,500 (7 percent) from the previous year. Another 654,600 departed to visit friends and relatives (up 26,500 or 4 percent). Departures for business purposes (257,900) were down 30,000 (10 percent) from the year ended August 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 1,600 in August 2009, compared with 500 in August 2008. There were 2,000 (29 percent) fewer PLT departures, including 1,800 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 900 from August 2008, resulting from 1,000 fewer arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens, partly offset by 200 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 1,600 in August 2009, down from 2,400 in July 2009, but similar to the level in June 2009 (1,700).

In August 2009, there were net inflows of migrants from the United Kingdom (800), and China and India (both 300). There was a net outflow of 700 PLT migrants to Australia, the lowest outflow to Australia for an August month since 2002, and a decrease from the outflows of 2,900 in August 2008 and 1,900 in August 2007.

Annual PLT migration

In the year ended August 2009, there were 87,500 PLT arrivals, up 800 (1 percent) from the August 2008 year. Over the same period, there were 71,900 PLT departures, down 9,900 (12 percent). As a result, net PLT migration was 15,600 in the August 2009 year, up from 4,900 in the August 2008 year. The latest figure is the highest annual net migration total since the November 2004 year (16,300).

 

The net PLT migration gain of 15,600 in the year ended August 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 August 2009, there were net PLT inflows from the United Kingdom (9,200), India (5,900), China (3,400), the Philippines (2,900), Fiji (2,700), South Africa (1,900), and Germany (1,600).

The net PLT outflow to Australia was 24,800 in the August 2009 year, compared with a net outflow of 33,300 in the August 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 38,900 PLT departures to Australia, partly offset by 14,100 PLT arrivals from Australia. Almost 9 in every 10 PLT departures to Australia were New Zealand citizens (34,400). Of the PLT arrivals from Australia, two-thirds were New Zealand citizens (9,400), similar to levels observed over the past decade.

Annual PLT migration by citizenship

A net inflow of 38,700 non-New Zealand citizens and a net outflow of 23,100 New Zealand citizens were recorded in the year ended August 2009.

PLT arrivals of New Zealand citizens numbered 25,400 in the August 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 48,500 PLT departures of New Zealand citizens in the August 2009 year, down 10,600 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 62,100 arrivals in the August 2009 year were down 1,400 from the August 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 23,300 PLT departures of non-New Zealand citizens in the August 2009 year, up 700 from the August 2008 year.

 

Annual PLT migration by permit type

In the August 2009 year, 29,400 PLT arrivals were Australian or New Zealand citizens who did not require a permit to remain in New Zealand. Of the 58,100 PLT arrivals who did require a permit, 22,600 arrived on work permits, 16,000 arrived on student permits, 14,100 arrived on residence permits, and 4,900 arrived on visitor permits. Compared with the August 2008 year, there were more PLT arrivals on student permits (up 1,300), but fewer arrivals on residence permits (down 800). 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 August 2009 year were down 700 from the previous year, they have decreased by 1,500 in the combined five months from April to August 2009.

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 of 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. This will replace the external migration (EMI) group. To allow users time to familiarise themselves with the ITM group, EMI will remain available until 30 September 2009. 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: September 2009 will be released on 21 October 2009.