Holiday arrivals from China exceed Australia in May

Holiday arrivals from China exceed Australia in May – Media release

22 June 2016

Visitor arrivals numbered 193,600 in May 2016, setting a new May record, Statistics New Zealand said today. Visitor arrivals were up 10 percent from May 2015, driven by an increase in holiday arrivals.

"Holiday visitor arrivals from China exceeded those from Australia in May 2016," population statistics manager Jo-Anne Skinner said. "This is only the second time this has ever happened, the first was in February 2015."

In the May 2016 year, visitor arrivals hit a record 3.29 million, up 11 percent from the May 2015 year.

New Zealand residents depart on 2.45 million trips in May 2016 year

New Zealand residents took a record 2.45 million overseas trips in the May 2016 year, up 5 percent from the May 2015 year. More trips to Australia, Fiji, and the United Kingdom were the biggest changes.

Declining trend in monthly net gain of migrants; annual net gain still breaking records

Seasonally adjusted figures showed a net gain (more arrivals than departures) of 5,500 migrants in May 2016. Since reaching a peak of 6,200 in November 2015, the seasonally adjusted net gain in migrants has averaged 5,700 a month. This reflects a declining trend in monthly net gains in migration.

New Zealand's unadjusted annual net gain of migrants reached 68,400 in the May 2016 year, a new high. Annual net gains in migration from Australia also continued (1,700 migrants).

See the International Travel and Migration: May 2016 commentary and tables for more information.

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1606/itmmay16tables.xls

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1606/IntTravelAndMigrationMay16.pdf

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