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Migrant arrivals to New Zealand continue to plunge compared to previous years, while departures are up on a year ago, according to Statistics NZ data. Provisional estimates for the year ended April showed a 27% drop in migrant arrivals to 145,000, compared with the previous year. Meanwhile, departures rose 15% to 123,700. Overall, New Zealand recorded an annual net migration gain of just 21,300. That’s well down on the previous year’s 90,900 gain. For context, Stats NZ said annual net migration peaked in the year ended October 2023, with a gain of 135,500. Meanwhile, tourism bounced higher in April, with 267,300 overseas visitor arrivals that month, up 42,200 from April last year. There were broad increases, including more holidaymakers from Australia, the UK, and the United States. Stats NZ noted tourist arrivals in April were still 87% of the 307,400 in April 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.