The number of New Zealanders leaving on short term overseas trips dropped by 11 per cent last month from a year earlier, partly due to school holiday timing.
Figures released by Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) today show the number of departures fell 22,300 to 186,000 in June 2008.
That compared with a record monthly total of 208,300 in June 2007 and was only slightly down on the 187,800 departures in June 2006.
SNZ said the fall last month was partly due to the earlier end to the second school term last year, which ended on June 29 in 2007, while this year the last day was July 4.
Short term overseas visitor arrivals to this country were down 2 per cent, or 3100, last month from a year earlier to 142,400.
Despite that decrease, the estimated average number of visitors in New Zealand each day was up 8 per cent, from an average of 90,200 in June 2007 to 97,400 last month.
Arrivals from the United States were down 1800 or 12 per cent last month from June 2007, while numbers from China were down 1600 or 24 per cent and those from Korea were down 1300 or 18 per cent.
Visitors from Australia were up 1200 or 2 per cent and from South Africa up 500 or 40 per cent.
For the June year, visitor arrivals were up 22,000 or 1 per cent from the June 2007 year to 2.48 million.
A 47,800 or 5 per cent increase from Australia was the largest rise, with visitor numbers from China up 7200 or 6 per cent for the year and from Canada up 5100 or 11 per cent.
Korean visitors were down 23,100 or 21 per cent for the year, with those from Japan down 12,700 or 10 per cent, and from Britain down 10,500 or 3 per cent.
- NZPA
