Fewer visitors arrive in July

The number of visitors to New Zealand in July 2012 (173,500) fell 1 percent from July 2011 (176,100), Statistics New Zealand said today. The 2012 figure was the lowest for a July month since 2007 (173,000).

"Although there were fewer visitors overall, arrivals from China rose 25 percent compared with July 2011," Population Statistics manager Andrea Blackburn said. "Also, the number of visitors from Japan returned close to the level of 2010, after being affected by earthquakes in 2011."

Fewer visitors arrived from Malaysia, Korea, and the United Kingdom compared with July 2011.
In the July 2012 year, 2.633 million visitors arrived in New Zealand, up 6 percent from the July 2011 year.

The 2012 figure was boosted by the Rugby World Cup, while 2011 was affected by the Christchurch earthquake in February and disruption to air travel in June because of ash from Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano.

New Zealand residents departed on 205,600 overseas trips in July 2012. This was less than the 231,600 trips taken in July 2011, but similar to the 208,000 trips in July 2010. The high July 2011 total was due to later-than-usual school holidays.

In the July 2012 year, New Zealand residents departed on 2.128 million overseas trips, up 2 percent from the July 2011 year. The biggest increase was in trips to the United States (up 12,700), helped by the favourable exchange rate between the United States dollar and the New Zealand dollar.

Net loss of migrants in July follows net gain in June

New Zealand had a seasonally adjusted net loss (excess of departures over arrivals) of 700 migrants in July 2012. This followed net gains of 500 in June and 100 in May. The recent fluctuation in net migration was influenced by shifting school holiday periods, which changed the timing of arrivals. 

In the July 2012 year, New Zealand had a net loss of 3,800 migrants. There has been an annual net loss of migrants since the October 2011 year, peaking at 4,100 in the February 2012 year.

The net loss of migrants to Australia in the July 2012 year was 39,800. This equals the highest ever net loss to Australia, previously recorded in both the April 2012 and June 2012 years. The July 2012 annual figure resulted from 53,900 departures to Australia (a record), offset by 14,000 arrivals from Australia. In both directions, most migrants were New Zealand citizens.

There were net gains of migrants from most other countries, led by the United Kingdom (5,500), China (5,100), and India (5,100).

See also:  International Travel and Migration: July 2012  –  Information release