Kiwi travellers spent $3bn overseas last year

New Zealanders' spending while on overseas holidays and business trips in the 12 months to June last year was $3 billion -- equivalent to nearly half of our balance of payments deficit for the period.

Statistics NZ (SNZ) today released new data from its two year Survey of Returned Travellers (Sort) which ended last June.

Sort will be used to help estimate New Zealanders' spending during short-term overseas trips as part of quarterly balance of payments or current account statistics. That data measures New Zealand's dealings with the rest of the world. New Zealand's balance of payments for the year to June 2004 was a deficit of $6.435 billion.

The Sort data released today showed 41 per cent of kiwis' spending while on overseas trips of less than one year was in Australia. Ten per cent was spent in the United States and another 10 per cent was in the United Kingdom.

SNZ said spending for the June 2004 year was highest during the September quarter at $872 million, and lowest during the three months to March. That was consistent with the survey's findings for the June 2003 year and reflected seasonal travel patterns.

About 18 per cent of spending was by business travellers who spent about $220 a day, twice as much as non-business travellers whose trips were in turn twice as long.

Average spending per trip for all travellers was $2277 down from $2444 in the June 2003 year. This reflected a fall in average duration of overseas trips, SNZ said.

- NZPA