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More visitors arrived and more New Zealanders went on overseas trips in February than for the same month last year, even taking account of leap day.
New Zealand residents departed on 107,900 short-term trips overseas in February, up 12 per cent on last year, Statistics New Zealand said.
If the impact of leap year was taken out, the increase was 8 per cent.
The number of visitors arriving in February increased by 5 per cent on last year and by 1 per cent for the 28-day period.
There were more visitors from Australia but fewer from Taiwan.
New Zealanders made 6700 more trips to Australia in February than last year, and New Caledonia and the Cook Islands were also popular destinations.
In the year ended February, New Zealand residents departed on 1.994 million overseas trips, up 7 per cent from the previous year.
Total visitor arrivals in the February year were up 2 per cent from the previous year, to reach 2.485 million.
There were more visitors from Australia and China, but fewer visitors from Korea, Japan and Britain in the annual figures.
- NZPA
