A record number of Chinese visitors for an August month helped lift the number of short-term visitors to New Zealand to the highest recorded in an August month.
(Update corrects August rise in emigration to Australia).
Statistics New Zealand said today short-term overseas visitor arrivals rose 4% to 168,100 last month from 161,100 in August 2009.
The number of Chinese visitors more than doubled from a year earlier to 9,700 from 4,600. This was the highest number of Chinese visitors recorded in an August month, topping the 9,000 in August 2007.
The number of Chinese visitors was third on a per country basis, behind the 87,956 Australians who visited during the month and the 11,044 US citizens.
Statistics New Zealand said in 2008 and 2009, visitor numbers from China were hit by the Global Financial Crisis, Sichuan earthquake, Beijing Olympics, and the Swine Flu pandemic.
“These events particularly affected short-staying holiday visitors, which account for the majority of visitors from China,” Statistics New Zealand said.
“Holiday visitors from China numbered 6,000 in August 2007, dropping to 2,200 in August 2009 before recovering to 6,400 in August 2010.”
Statistics New Zealand said at 212,600, the underlying trend derived from its seasonally adjusted series, shows visitor arrivals hit an all-time high in August, ahead of the previous high of 212,400 in November 2009.
Emigration to Australia rises
Meanwhile, emigration of New Zealand citizens to Australia rose 56% more than doubled in August to 1,600 from 700 in August 2009. That follows a 54% rise in July, versus July 2009, to 1,469 as wage growth increases across the Tasman and unemployment rises here. However, the net outflow to Australia in the year to August was 17,300, well down from 24,800 in the August 2009 year.
Overall on a seasonally adjusted basis, Statistics New Zealand said net permanent and long-term migration, arrivals minus departures, was 800 in August 2010. That’s just below its revised figure of 900 in July. Net migration for the August year was 14,500, with net gains from Britain, 6,500, India 5,800, and China 3,600.
ASB economist Christina Leung said the figures would be encouraging for the Reserve Bank, given it highlighted in last week’s Monetary Policy Statement that subdued net migration was one of the drivers behind its forecasts for a weak household sector.
“The August outturn suggests net migration over the coming year may not be as subdued as initially expected,” Leung said. “We expect subdued population growth will underpin a gradual recovery in housing construction and retail spending.”
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