Large gain in visitor arrivals

Visitor arrivals in September 2009 (172,400) were up 14,700 (nine per cent) compared with September 2008, Statistics NZ has said.

This is the largest monthly percentage increase in visitor numbers since April 2006. Arrivals from Australia (up 12,600 or 15 per cent) were the major contributor, with September 2009 being the sixth consecutive month of large increases from across the Tasman.

Over the past four months, the increases from Australia were largely offset by decreases from China, Japan, and Korea. However, this was not the case in September 2009.

While there was another large decrease in visitor arrivals from Korea (down 1,500 or 33 per cent), visitor arrivals from China were up 800 (15 per cent), and visitors from Japan were down just 200 (four per cent).

Visitor arrivals in the September 2009 year (2.425 million) were down 43,900 (two per cent) from the September 2008 year.

NZ residents departed on 193,300 short-term overseas trips in September 2009, up 1,200 (one per cent) from September 2008.

There were more trips to Australia (up 3,200 or four per cent), and Fiji (up 1,700 or 16 per cent), but fewer trips to the US (down 1,900 or 16 per cent).

For the September 2009 year, short-term departures of NZ residents numbered 1.917 million, down 58,700 (three per cent) from the previous year.

Permanent and long-term (PLT) departures decreased by 1,700 in September 2009, including 1,500 fewer departures to Australia and 200 fewer to the UK.

Monthly PLT departures have fallen by at least 1,000, compared with the same month of the previous year, since February 2009.