New Zealand visitor arrival growth slows down to 7-year-low

Growth in annual visitor arrivals in New Zealand dropped to its lowest level in seven years, as the number of visitors from Asia continued to fall, New Zealand statistics department Stats NZ said on Thursday.

The total number of overseas visitor arrivals increased 2.1 percent to 3.9 million for the year ended October 2019, compared with the year ended October 2018, Stats NZ said.

"Visitor arrivals from Asia have been falling for the last nine months when compared with the same months last year," population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said in a statement.

More than one-third of visitors from Australia come to New Zealand to visit friends and family. About three-quarters of visitors from China, and two-thirds of visitors from the United States come for a holiday, he said.

xinhua