Australian arrivals to New Zealand in August rose 3% year on year, with growth largely fuelled by ex-residents returning home to visit family and friends, according to Statistics New Zealand.
The destination welcomed 95,552 visitors from Australia, up 2,800 on the same month last year. The number of people crossing the Tasman to visit friends and relatives was up 2,400, while those arriving for conferences and conventions rose by 700. Meanwhile, there were 900 fewer business arrivals.
Figures produced by Statistics New Zealand showed the destination welcomed 178,300 international visitors in August, an increase of 1% year on year as several European markets dipped.
“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.
Meanwhile, the number of overseas trips made by Kiwis rose by 1% to 193,500, but considerably fewer of them were heading for Australian shores. The number of Kiwis departing for Australia dropped 3,500 compared with August 2011.
