3401.0 - Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, May 2014 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/07/2014   
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MAIN FEATURES


SHORT-TERM VISITOR ARRIVALS

In trend terms, short-term visitor arrivals to Australia during May 2014 (577,500 movements) increased 0.7% when compared with April 2014 (573,600 movements). Currently, short-term visitor arrivals are 11.3% higher than in May 2013.

SHORT-TERM VISITOR ARRIVALS, Australia(a)
Graph: visitor arrivals, short-term, last 10 years

The following table presents the top ten source countries (based on original estimates) for short-term visitor arrivals during May 2014. When trend estimates for short-term visitor arrivals for May 2013 and May 2014 were compared, the highest percentage increase was recorded for Malaysia (24.0%) followed by Hong Kong (23.3%). There were no trend decreases recorded.

Short-term Visitor Arrivals, Australia - May 2014
Trend
Seasonally Adjusted
Original
Apr '14 to May '14
May '13 to May '14(b)
Country of Residence(a)
'000
'000
'000
Trend % change
Trend % change
New Zealand
105.2
105.8
102.0
0.1
8.0
China
68.0
66.7
48.1
1.0
9.0
United States of America
46.6
47.8
38.7
0.5
16.7
Malaysia
26.0
26.3
31.8
-0.4
24.0
Singapore
31.7
32.9
29.2
0.4
17.3
UK, CIs & IOM(c)
54.9
50.2
26.9
-0.3
7.2
India
16.2
17.0
21.7
1.8
20.5
Japan
27.2
28.5
19.5
0.9
3.1
Korea, South
17.1
17.7
14.8
0.9
4.2
Hong Kong
17.8
18.6
13.5
0.9
23.3
(a) Top 10 source countries based on original estimates.
(b) Data revised from July 2004 to December 2013. For information see Explanatory Notes 12 & 13.
(c) United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.



'What if'....? Future scenarios

The most recent trend estimates for short-term visitor arrivals are likely to be revised when the next month's seasonally adjusted estimates become available. To assist in analysing these movement trends, the approximate effects of two possible scenarios on the previous trend estimate of short-term visitor arrivals are presented:
      1 The June 2014 seasonally adjusted estimate of visitor arrivals is 2.2% higher than May 2014.
      2 The June 2014 seasonally adjusted estimate of visitor arrivals is 2.2% lower than May 2014.
WHAT IF...? REVISIONS TO STVA TREND ESTIMATES, Australia(a)
Graph: visitor arrivals, short-term, future scenarios


The figure of 2.2% for visitor arrivals represents the average absolute monthly percentage change for visitor arrivals over the last ten years. For further information on the effect of new seasonally adjusted estimates on short-term visitor arrival trend estimates, see paragraph 30 of the Explanatory Notes.


SHORT-TERM RESIDENT DEPARTURES

In trend terms, short-term resident departures from Australia during May 2014 (755,200 movements) increased 0.4% when compared with April 2014 (752,300 movements). Currently, short-term resident departures are 4.2% higher than in May 2013.

SHORT-TERM RESIDENT DEPARTURES, Australia(a)

Graph: resident departures, short-term, last 10 years


The following table presents the top ten destination countries (based on original estimates) for short-term resident departures in May 2014. When trend estimates for short-term resident departures for May 2013 and May 2014 were compared, the highest percentage increase was recorded for Singapore (19.9%), followed by Indonesia (15.4%). The highest percentage decrease was recorded for the United Kingdom (9.9%), followed by the United States of America (4.0%).



Short-term Resident Departures, Australia - May 2014
Trend
Seasonally Adjusted
Original
Apr '14 to May '14
May '13 to May '14(b)
Country of Stay(a)
'000
'000
'000
Trend % change
Trend % change
Indonesia
89.8
91.7
89.2
1.6
15.4
United States of America
76.4
75.8
83.4
0.6
-4.0
New Zealand
99.5
97.8
69.8
-0.4
1.1
UK, CIs & IOM(c)
42.7
42.9
60.6
-0.9
-9.9
Thailand
51.1
50.7
42.1
0.5
-3.2
China
33.5
34.0
32.4
0.3
1.2
Singapore
33.8
34.5
30.9
0.9
19.9
Fiji
28.1
28.7
27.7
1.2
-1.4
Italy
14.1
14.0
22.7
-0.1
-1.6
Malaysia
25.7
25.0
20.6
-0.7
13.8
(a) Top 10 destination countries based on original estimates.
(b) Data revised from July 2004 to December 2013. For information see Explanatory Notes 12 & 13.
(c) United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.


'What if'....? Future scenarios

The most recent trend estimates for short-term resident departures are likely to be revised when the next month's seasonally adjusted estimates become available. To assist in analysing these movement trends, the approximate effects of two possible scenarios on the previous trend estimate of short-term resident departures are presented:
      1 The June 2014 seasonally adjusted estimate of resident departures is 2.4% higher than May 2014.
      2 The June 2014 seasonally adjusted estimate of resident departures is 2.4% lower than May 2014.
WHAT IF...? REVISIONS TO STRD TREND ESTIMATES, Australia(a)
Graph: resident departures, short-term, future scenarios
The figure of 2.4% for resident departures represents the average absolute monthly percentage change for resident departures over the last ten years. For further information on the effect of new seasonally adjusted estimates on short-term resident departure trend estimates, see paragraph 30 of the Explanatory Notes.


PERMANENT AND LONG-TERM MOVEMENTS

Statistics on overseas arrivals and departures relate to the number of movements of travellers rather than the number of travellers. Care should be taken when using permanent and long-term movements data as it is known that some individuals who travel multiple times in a year are counted each time they cross Australia's borders. For example, in the year 2011, there were over 14 million multiple movements accounting for 46% of all movements (see paragraph 7 of the Explanatory Notes). Permanent and long-term movements in this publication are not an appropriate source of migration statistics. For further information refer to Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0); the Information Paper: Statistical Implications of Improved Methods for Estimating Net Overseas Migration, Australia, 2007 (cat. no. 3107.0.55.005); and the Technical Note: '12/16 month rule' Methodology for Calculating Net Overseas Migration from September quarter 2006 onwards in Migration, Australia (cat. no. 3412.0) under the Explanatory Notes tab.

There were 11,590 people who stated they were permanent (settler) arrivals to Australia during May 2014, a decrease of 11.9% compared with May 2013 (13,150 movements). People born in India accounted for the largest proportion of settlers (14.8%), followed by people born in New Zealand (13.2%), China (12.1%) and the Philippines (5.7%).

There were 6,540 Australian residents who stated their intention was to depart permanently from Australia during May 2014, a decrease of 2.8% compared with May 2013 (6,720 movements). However, analysis shows that the majority of those with an intention of permanently departing, return to Australia within the following year. For example, in the calendar year 2011, out of the 84,240 Australian residents who stated they were departing permanently, only 15,890 spent 12 months or more overseas.


STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The above presentation of movements in estimates does not take into account whether the change in movement is statistically significant. Care should be taken when interpreting the impact of numeric and/or percentage change. Please see the Standard Errors section (under the Explanatory Notes tab) of this issue for more detail.