Lowest international travel numbers in 50 years

The number of people crossing New Zealand's border in 2021 was the lowest for a calendar year since 1971, Stats NZ said today.

There were 826,400 border crossings in 2021, made up of 398,600 arrivals and 427,800 departures. The total number of border crossings reached 14.2 million in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"COVID-19 related border and travel restrictions were in place throughout 2021, keeping traveller numbers low," population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said.

"Travel bubbles with Australia and the Cook Islands in the middle of the year saw numbers lift, before travel bubbles popped in mid-August. Over three-quarters of trips made in 2021 took place during the months of April to August, while the travel bubbles were in effect."

Visitor arrivals down

There were 206,900 arrivals by overseas visitors in 2021, well down on 1.0 million the year before, and 3.9 million in 2019.

Australia remained the main source of overseas visitor arrivals in 2021, making up 77 percent of total overseas visitor arrivals.

"There were large drops in overseas visitor numbers from virtually every country in 2021 compared with the year before. The exception was the Cook Islands and Vanuatu, which saw small increases coinciding with the travel bubble and the Recognised Seasonal Employer programme, respectively," Mr Islam said.

Overseas visitors are people living overseas, and who are in New Zealand for less than 12 months. Overseas visitors can include New Zealand citizens, seasonal workers, and essential workers, among others.

Reflecting COVID-19 impacts on the border and international travel, New Zealand citizens living overseas made-up 45 percent of overseas visitor arrivals in 2021, compared with 14 percent in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Zealand residents take fewer overseas trips

New Zealand-resident travellers returned from 142,900 overseas trips in 2021. This number was well down on 681,900 the year before, and 3.1 million in 2019.

Australia and the Cook Islands were the top destinations in 2021, due to quarantine-free travel arrangements. Almost 60 percent of trips in 2021 were to Australia, and 18 percent to the Cook Islands.