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NZ tourist arrivals rise in August with more Australian, Chinese visitors

Friday 21st September 2012

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New Zealand's short-term arrivals rose last month from a year earlier as more Australians and Chinese visitors trumped last year's pick-up from the Rugby World Cup. Some 175,900 people came to New Zealand for a short-term visit in August, according to Statistics New Zealand.

That's up 1 percent from August 2011 when visitor numbers were boosted by 4,400 arrivals for the RWC. On an annual basis, short-term visitors rose 5 percent to 2.6 million. Any inflation from last year's sporting event was offset by the Christchurch earthquake in February and disruption to air travel in June because of ash from Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano, Statistics NZ said.

The annual increase was led by 25 percent gain in the number of Chinese visitors to 14,400. Tourists from Australia rose by 3 percent to 2,800. "More arrivals from Australia and China in August 2012 pushed visitor numbers even higher than in August 2011, when they were boosted by 4,400 arrivals for the Rugby World Cup," population statistics manager Andrea Blackburn said in a statement.

"This August, more people from Australia visited friends and relatives, while more arrived from China for holidays." Short-term arrivals from Malaysia and the United Kingdom fell, with the London Olympics in July and August affecting outbound travel from the United Kingdom.

There was a net outflow of 340 migrants on a seasonally adjusted basis in August, with an annual outflow 4,100.New Zealand's short-term arrivals rose last month from a year earlier as more Australians and Chinese visitors trumped last year's pick-up from the Rugby World Cup. Some 175,900 people came to New Zealand for a short-term visit in August, according to Statistics New Zealand.

New Zealand's tourism sector has been struggling since the global financial crisis in 2008, when financial markets collapsed and oil prices surged, causing widespread unemployment and eroding people's discretionary spending on long-haul travel. New Zealanders continued to quit the country for Australia in June, with 3,400 kiwis packing their bags for across the ditch. Net outflows to Australia have remained relatively stable since March 2011 averaging at around 3,300 per month.

Some 175,900 people came to New Zealand for a short-term visit in August, according to Statistics New Zealand. That's up 1 percent from August 2011 when visitor numbers were boosted by 4,400 arrivals for the RWC. On an annual basis, short-term visitors rose 5 percent to 2.6 million. Any inflation from last year's sporting event was offset by the Christchurch earthquake in February and disruption to air travel in June because of ash from Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano, Statistics NZ said.

New Zealanders continued to quit the country for Australia in June, with 3,400 kiwis packing their bags for across the ditch. Net outflows to Australia have remained relatively stable since March 2011 averaging at around 3,300 per month. There was a net outflow of 340 migrants on a seasonally adjusted basis in August, with an annual outflow 4,100.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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