Annual arrivals exceed 1 million

Annual arrivals into New Zealand exceeded 1 million in the August 2022 year, Stats NZ said today. This is the first time this has occurred since the December 2020 year.

There were just under 1.3 million arrivals in the 12 months to August 2022. This was well up on the August 2021 year (400,300), but well down on the August 2019 year (7.1 million) before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Arrivals to New Zealand have been increasing each month from March 2022, following the gradual relaxation of COVID-19 related border restrictions," population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said.

"For the August 2022 year, 94 percent of the arrivals came in the last six months."

In the August 2022 year, there were 603,200 overseas resident arrivals, and 660,500 New Zealand residents returning from short trips (less than 12 months) overseas.

By comparison, in the August 2019 year, there were 4 million overseas resident arrivals and 3.1 million New Zealand resident arrivals.

Arrivals include people living overseas making short-term trips (less than 12 months) or migrating long term to New Zealand, and New Zealand-resident travellers arriving back from short-term trips overseas. Both groups include New Zealand and non-New Zealand citizens.

There were 1.3 million departures from New Zealand in the August 2022 year. This includes New Zealand residents making short-term trips (less than 12 months) or migrating long term to other countries, and people living overseas departing from short-term trips to New Zealand. Both groups include New Zealand and non-New Zealand citizens.

Holidays growing in popularity

For the August 2022 month a holiday was the main purpose of travel given by 50,900 (43 percent) of overseas visitor arrivals, followed by visiting friends and relatives (46,500 or 39 percent).

"August 2022 is the first month in nearly two and half years where a holiday has been the most popular reason for travel by overseas visitors, replacing 'visiting friends and relatives' which had dominated the reason for travel from April 2020," Mr Islam said.

Of overseas visitors who gave a reason for their travel to New Zealand, a holiday was the most popular reason in every month from October 1946 to March 2020.

Provisional net migration loss in August 2022 year

A migrant is someone changing their country of usual residence, and in the 12 months ended August 2022 there was a provisional net migration loss of 11,000. This was made up of 59,600 migrant arrivals and 70,500 migrant departures.

Both migrant arrivals and migrant departures are currently well below the levels experienced during the 2010s when they averaged 126,900 and 93,300 a year, respectively.

The provisional net migration loss in the August 2022 year was made up of net losses of 10,300 New Zealand citizens and 600 non-New Zealand citizens, based on the passport used to cross the border.

After 27 months of mainly net migration gains of New Zealand citizens amounting to 31,900, the last 10 months has seen net migration losses of New Zealand citizens amounting to 11,400.

In contrast, after 24 months of net migration losses of non-New Zealand citizens amounting to 30,900, the last five months has seen net migration gains of non-New Zealand citizens amounting to 6,000.

New Zealand has usually had an annual net migration gain of non-New Zealand citizens and an annual net migration loss of New Zealand citizens.