New Zealand's travel restrictions flatten arrivals and departures in April

The number of people crossing New Zealand's border in April 2020 fell to levels last seen in the late 1960s, the country's statistic department Stats NZ said on Monday.

There were a combined 38,200 arrivals and departures in April 2020, compared with nearly 1.2 million in April 2019, Stats NZ said.

New Zealand's border was closed to almost all visitor arrivals just before midnight on 19 March. This was part of the New Zealand government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, daily arrival and departure numbers have dropped substantially, it said.

April 2020 was the first month under full border restrictions imposed by the New Zealand government in response to COVID-19. New Zealand citizens and their families were still able to return, along with other traveler groups granted exemptions from border restrictions, it said.

"Of the 1,700 overseas visitors arriving in April 2020, about three-quarters were New Zealand citizens living outside New Zealand," population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said in a statement.

"The remaining one-quarter included family of New Zealand citizens, essential workers, and other exempt travelers," he said.

The total number of departures in April was 32,000, down 588,900 from April 2019. Provisionally there were 700 migrant departures, Islam said.

"From 2 April 2020 overseas visitors were able to depart if they could find flights out of the country. A number of international governments also arranged flights to help their citizens leave New Zealand during April," Islam said.