New Zealand visitor numbers dip in May

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New Zealand's short-term visitor numbers fell in May, driven by a drop in arrivals from Japan and Korea, reversing strong gains seen in the previous month.

Short-term visitor arrivals fell 0.4 per cent to 141,300 in May, according to Statistics New Zealand, with those from Korea tumbling 34% and from Japan down 54 per cent.

Arrivals rose 5 per cent gain in the previous month.

Australian visitor numbers continued to climb in May, up 2,400 in the month, lead by gains from Victoria and Queensland.

New Zealand residents departed on 181,000 short-term overseas trips in May, up 10 per cent from the same month a year ago, a record for the month of May.

In terms of permanent and long-term migration, there was a net outflow of 2100 migrants in May compared to the same month a year ago, primarily to Australia.

Of these, 800 were from Christchurch, up from 500 in May.

That was marginally offset by 500 more arrivals in non-New Zealand citizens.