Visitor arrivals break February record

Visitor arrivals break February record

21 March 2014

Visitor arrivals to New Zealand in February 2014 were the highest ever for a February month, Statistics New Zealand said today. The number of visitors in February (301,200) was up 7 percent from last year.

"Visitor arrivals reached a new February record in 2014, driven by arrivals from Australia," population statistics manager Andrea Blackburn said. "Compared with February 2013, fewer visitors arrived from China and Hong Kong, due to the earlier timing of Chinese New Year. However, an increase in visitors from Australia more than made up for the decrease in visitors from Asia."

There were also more visitors from the United States and Germany in February 2014, compared with last year. In the February 2014 year, visitor arrivals reached 2.77 million, up 7 percent from the February 2013 year.

New Zealand residents departed on 116,900 overseas trips in February 2014, up 6 percent from February 2013 and a record for a February month. Over the year, New Zealand residents took 2.21 million trips, up 2 percent from the previous year. The most common destinations were Australia (1.03 million), the United States (145,300), Fiji (114,100), and the United Kingdom (96,100).

Highest annual net gain of migrants in over 10 years

New Zealand had a seasonally adjusted net gain (more arrivals than departures) of 3,500 migrants in February 2014 – the highest gain in over 10 years (since 3,500 in April 2003). Net migration has been positive and mostly increasing since September 2012. The increase was mainly due to fewer New Zealand citizens leaving for Australia, as well as more non-New Zealand citizens arriving.

In the February 2014 year, migrant arrivals numbered 96,900, and migrant departures numbered 67,800, resulting in a net gain of 29,000 migrants. This compares with a net migration gain of 1,200 in the February 2013 year.

In the latest year, New Zealand had a net loss of 15,000 migrants to Australia, well down from 36,700 a year earlier. Net gains were recorded from most other countries, led by China (6,100), India, and the United Kingdom (each 5,800).

For more information about these statistics:
• Visit International Travel and Migration: February 2014
• Ends

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