10 March 2010 0:00
More Kiwis stayed home for global financial crisis
A 22% drop in the number of Kiwis and long term residents departing the country last year produced the highest net rise in permanent, long term migration since 2004, Statistics New Zealand figures issued today show
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Net inward long term migration in calendar 2009 was 21,300, compared to 3,800 in 2008, almost twice the average of 11,900 between 1990 and 2009, and net losses during a period of local economic weakness from 1998 to 2001.
Rather than a flood of new arrivals fleeing the global financial crisis, last year's spike in net permanent migration was driven by the fact that the 65,200 long term and permanent departures were down 18,500 on the previous year. Long term arrivals were down 1% at 86,400.
Of those departures, 41,600 were Kiwis, down by a third from 60,600 in 2008.
For the month of December, permanent long-term arrivals exceeded departures by 1700 on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Meanwhile, short term visitor arrivals are rebounding with the largest inbound arrivals total ever recorded for any month recorded in December 2009, at 341,300, up 6% from the previous high recorded in December 2008, driven in part by growth in the numbers visiting family and friends over the Christmas period.
Arrivals from Australia were up 14,000 (11%) for December compared with the same month a year earlier, continuing large monthly increases recorded since April last year. Americans also chose New Zealand for short trips in record numbers for a December month, at 26,400, compared with the previous December high of 25,900 in December 2003.
On an annual, aggregated basis, there were 2.458 million visitor arrivals in total in 2009, similar to the 2008 and 2007 totals of 2.459 million and 2.466 million respectively.
Business travellers accounted for 231,400 arrivals, down 9% on 2008, while visiting friends and family was up 6% to 788,000. Visitors arriving for holidays were up slightly to 1.185 million (1.2%).
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