For the year 2007, statistical data show that the migration to New Zealand is slowing down. The long term migration count for 2007 was down by 5000 compared to the year 2006. That is from around 13000 for 2006 down to around 8000 for 2007.
Despite these facts, last September 2007, airport statistics showed that arrivals still exceed departures which mean that more people are coming in to the country compared to the people going out, which is good.
For 2007, the traveller movement in the country for both arrival and departure was on an all time high. Visitors coming to the country almost reached five million. For long term migrants, there was a movement of a little over one hundred fifty thousand.
The figure for tourists coming into the country went up by four percent for the year 2007 compared to the previous year. The tourist growth in the country has grown exponentially through the years. For the month of September 2007, over two hundred thousand New Zealanders went out of the country for short-term trips. The primary reason for that number is because of the Rugby World Cup held during the months of September and October. The Rugby World Cup took place in the United Kingdom and France. New Zealand residents booked around four thousand flights to France and two thousand five hundred more flights to UK for the month of September. These world class sporting events really attract a lot of people from all over the world.