The number of arrivals and departures across the New Zealand border in June 2021 dipped slightly from the month before, due to interruptions to quarantine-free travel with Australia, Stats NZ said today.
There were 175,500 total movements across the New Zealand border in June 2021, made up of 85,400 arrivals and 90,200 departures.
This is down from May 2021, when there were 189,500 total movements across the border, made up of 91,300 arrivals and 98,200 departures.
"The dip reflects pauses on travel from some Australian states in mid-June, and from all of Australia in late June," population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said.
| Month-year | Arrivals | Departures | Arrivals (provisional) | Departures (provisional) |
| Apr-2020 | 6256 | 31975 | ||
| May-2020 | 5622 | 10231 | ||
| Jun-2020 | 9270 | 14997 | ||
| Jul-2020 | 9140 | 18390 | ||
| Aug-2020 | 11515 | 14443 | ||
| Sep-2020 | 11700 | 15823 | ||
| Oct-2020 | 12392 | 13496 | ||
| Nov-2020 | 11741 | 13610 | ||
| Dec-2020 | 12766 | 17405 | ||
| Jan-2021 | 13119 | 13858 | ||
| Feb-2021 | 12160 | 13274 | ||
| Mar-2021 | 11878 | 14618 | ||
| Apr-2021 | 47003 | 38871 | ||
| May-2021 | 91299 | 98183 | ||
| Jun-2021 | 85350 | 90196 | 85350 | 90196 |
| Jul-2021 | 72168 | 75902 |
Provisional data for July 2021 shows a further fall in the number of border crossings. This reflects ongoing pauses in travel from some Australian states and territories in July, and the suspension of quarantine-free travel from Australia to New Zealand in late July .
Australia and Cook Islands lead travel
There were 51,600 overseas visitor arrivals in June 2021. This is down 6,000 from May 2021 and is roughly a quarter of the number in June 2019 (213,500).
Of the overseas visitor arrivals who specified their country of residence, 92 percent were from Australia and of these, 40 percent were New Zealand citizens.
There were 29,600 New Zealand-resident arrivals in June 2021, a few hundred higher than May 2021, but well down from June 2019 (257,300).
Almost 80 percent (22,100) were returning from a trip to Australia and 15 percent (4,300) from the Cook Islands.
Visiting friends or relatives more popular than usual
Just over 60 percent of visitors from Australia in June 2021 were visiting friends or relatives. Historically, about 37 percent of visitors from Australia are visiting friends or relatives on average in June months (2015-19).
Almost 2 in 3 New Zealand-resident arrivals returning from Australia in June 2021 were visiting friends or relatives. This is a larger share than usual, with about 2 in 5 visiting friends or relatives in June months in recent years.
