[1] An All Blacks fan at the semi-final match against Australia at Eden Park. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings New Zealand visitor numbers climbed by more than a quarter in September as people arrived for the Rugby World Cup.
Short-term visitor arrivals rose to 219,900 in September, up from 174,200 a year earlier, according to Statistics New Zealand.
About 74,400 arrived for the sporting tournament, taking the three-month total of arrivals for the event to 80,000. The event attracted visitors from non-participating companies, Statistics NZ said.
The Government expects the tournament to attract about 95,000 people and inject $700 million into the economy, though officials haven't figured out the net benefit for the country.
The Statistics NZ figures also revealed New Zealanders took fewer trips in September, with just 167,400 going on an overseas holiday compared to 210,000 a year ago. The department said the main reason was the later timing of the school holidays to coincide with the tournament.
A seasonally-adjusted total of 700 New Zealanders left the country long-term in September as more Kiwis jumped across the Tasman, and fewer people entered the country on student and work visas.
It was the sixth net outflow in seven months and leaves the annual net inflow at 773.
"The weakness in net migration highlights ongoing weakness in total domestic consumer demand, and the lack of urgency to increase the Official Cash Rate,'' Turner said.
"However, over the coming year, we expect that steady jobs growth will see skill shortages emerge, which will then encourage a pick-up in inward migration.''
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