Visitor Arrivals from Japan Continue to Decrease

Embargoed until 10:45am – 1 March 2007

Visitor Arrivals from Japan Continue to Decrease

Visitor numbers from Japan decreased by 19 percent in January 2007, compared with January 2006, Statistics New Zealand said today. This is the 19th consecutive month that visitor arrivals from Japan have decreased compared with the same month the previous year.

There were 246,700 visitor arrivals to New Zealand in January 2007, a 2 percent decrease from the 250,600 visitor arrivals in January 2006. Seasonally adjusted monthly visitor arrivals decreased 3 percent between December 2006 and January 2007.

In the year ended January 2007, there were 2.418 million visitor arrivals, up 1 percent on the January 2006 year. There were more visitors from Australia (up 27,200), China (up 16,700) and the United States of America (up 10,600), but fewer from Japan (down 20,500) and the United Kingdom (down 9,300).

New Zealand residents departed on 109,100 short-term overseas trips in January 2007, up 1,400 (1 percent) on January 2006. More New Zealand residents departed for Australia, the Cook Islands, the United Kingdom and India. Fewer trips were taken to Malaysia, China, Hong Kong and Fiji.

In the January 2007 year, there were 1.865 million New Zealand resident short-term departures, 1 percent lower than in the previous January year.

Permanent and long-term (PLT) arrivals exceeded departures by 1,200 in January 2007, compared with an excess of 1,700 arrivals in January 2006. On a seasonally adjusted basis, there was a net PLT inflow of 400 in January 2007.

In the January 2007 year, there was a net PLT inflow of 14,100, up on the net migration gain of 7,000 in the previous January year.

Brian Pink
Government Statistician

ENDS

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