More New Zealanders are taking short trips to Australia but fewer are going there to live.
The seasonally-adjusted net loss of 1,200 migrants to Australia in July was the smallest since November 2009 and was down from a high of 3,500 in July 2012, Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday.
But there were 9,300 more trips taken to Australia, and 5,200 more visitors from across the Tasman, compared with the previous July - with totals of 97,300 and 97,200 respectively.
New Zealanders took 237,000 overseas trips in July, the highest for any month and 15 per cent more than July 2012. But after adjustment for an earlier winter school holiday period in 2013, the rise was only two per cent.
New Zealand welcomed 183,700 visitors in July, the highest for a July month and up six per cent on last July.
More visitors arrived from China, the UK, and the US as well as from Australia.
In the year ended July 2013, there were 2.647 million visitors from all countries, up one per cent from the previous year.
New Zealand had a seasonally-adjusted net gain of 2,000 migrants in July, similar to the previous month and the highest since July 2009.
In the July 2013 year, New Zealand had a net gain of 10,600 migrants, the highest since the November 2010 year when the net gain was 11,500.
The net annual loss of 29,200 migrants to Australia was the lowest since the May 2011.
