KEY POINTS:
Whether the reason for travel was business or pleasure, the departure lounges at our international airports have been buzzing lately.
New Zealand residents departed on 16 per cent more overseas trips in May, than in May 2006, Statistics New Zealand said today.
171,300 short-term trips were recorded in May 2007, up 23,400 on the 147,900 departures in May a year earlier.
This is a record number of departures for the month of May, and the largest monthly increase since December 2004.
Half of the increase was in trips to Australia (up 12,300 or 17 per cent) while there were also more trips to the Cook Islands, the United States, China, the United Kingdom and Samoa.
Trips to Spain doubled, from 700 in May 2006 to 1,400 in May 2007, coinciding with the Louis Vuitton Cup yachting regatta in Valencia. However, departures to Fiji (down 800 or 9 per cent) continued to be affected by the political situation in that country.
The number of visitors coming to the country was healthy too.
Visitor arrivals in May 2007 totalled 140,800, up 5,500 (4 per cent) on May 2006, despite the high currency exchange rates.
