KEY POINTS:
The beleaguered travel industry had a lift in December when the number of short-term overseas visitors arriving in the country hit a record for any month.
It was also the first month since July that the number of arrivals was higher than in the corresponding month of the previous year, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said when it published the data today.
The 322,200 short-term overseas visitor arrivals in December was 4900, or 2 per cent, higher than in December 2007.
Senior economist at UBS New Zealand, Robin Clements, said 'the anecdote' with respect to tourism had been pessimistic for some time - but it would "seem this applied more to the anticipation rather than the experience", with tourist numbers finishing 2008 pretty close to the average of the last two years.
"Nonetheless, the anecdote on forward-bookings for the tourist sector
(February is peak season) remains pessimistic, consistent with the fall-out from the global downturn yet to impact on arrival numbers," said Clements
While the December migration numbers did "claw-back" part of the
November losses, it would take several months to establish an improving trend - which is the anticipation that fewer New Zealanders will leave the country and more will return, due to worse job prospects overseas.
The number of New Zealand-born overseas visitor arrivals was up 5000 from a year earlier, including 3400 more visiting friends and relatives and 1700 more holiday makers, SNZ said.
There were also 2900 more visitors not born in New Zealand who came for a holiday, but the number coming on business was down 3200.
Australian visitors had a big hand in the December tourism figures, with numbers crossing the Tasman up 6 per cent, or 7100, from a year earlier to 132,900, also a highest-ever monthly total.
The estimated average number of visitors in this country each day in December was 3 per cent higher than a year earlier at 182,800, but the average intended stay of visitors who arrived in December was 22 days, down from 23 days in December 2007.
For the year to December, visitor arrivals were down 7200, or less than 1 per cent, from a year earlier at 2.46 million.
Of those visitor arrivals, 1.18 million came on holiday, down 2 per cent from the previous year. Numbers visiting friends and relatives rose 4 per cent to 743,000, while those here on business were down 5 per cent to 254,400.
Visitor arrivals from Australia were up 26,000, or 3 per cent, for the year to 976,200, Canadian arrivals were up 5500 or 11 per cent, and those from South Africa up 3700 or 17 per cent.
Korean visitor numbers fell 20,400 or 21 per cent in 2008 compared with 2007, while numbers from Japan fell 19,200 or 16 per cent, those from China were down 8400 or 7 per cent, and from Britain fell 7600 or 3 per cent.
While more people were visiting this country in December, fewer New Zealand residents were leaving on short-term overseas trips, compared to a year earlier. Numbers fell 12,400 or 6 per cent to 187,300.
For the 2008 year, New Zealand residents left on 1.97m short-term overseas trips, a drop of 13,100 or 1 per cent from 2007.
- NZPA/HERALD ONLINE
