OVERSEAS TRAVEL

Evening Star, Issue 19855, 2 May 1928, Page 6

OVERSEAS TRAVEL

WHERE NEW ZEALANDERS GO IMMIGRATION FLOW ANALYSED The elaborate questioning of passengers who arrive on the overseas steamers, which causes critical comment now and then, has at least the advantage that tho Government Statistician is able to analyse in great detail the flow of population overseas. His latest report, covering the year 1927, shows that the Government's suspension of assisted immigration, except in the cases of contracts already made and for the purpose of uniting families, has had the result of causing a big drop in the number of arrivals injxmding permanent residence. Figures for the last few years are somewhat striking in this respect. Immigrants, 1924 ... 14,314 Immigrants, 1925 ... 15,704 Immigrants, 1926 ... 17,868 Immigrants, 1927 ... 11,327 Tourists totalled 9,105, a slight drop on the previous year, but a very substantial increase on the year 1924, when their numbers amounted to 7,425. The American tourist, of whom more is heard than all the rest, only provided 656 of last year’s arrivals, the substantial ligures being made up of Australians (5,737) and people from the Homeland (1,379). The real tourist appearing in these figures is the New Zealander, who shows a remarkable ability to make overseas journeys. In 1927 the arrivals included 14,271 New Zealanders who had returned from abroad, and 16,659 who left on an overseas holiday. In 1925 there was a substantial drop in the New Zealand temporary migration (13,758 being the total), but lash year’s movement is the largest recorded many year for which information is available. Particulars of the occupations of immigrants show that tho suspension of assisted immigration has cwt down the numbers of those intending to take up agricultural or pastoral work, the total being 1,436, compared with 2,432 in the previous year. Industrial workers have dropped from 1,033 to 1,139 in the same period. As to the actual effect of overseas movement on our pr/rmanent population, tho report shows that on comparison of the permanent departures with the permanent arrivals there was a gain of 7,182 laf/b year.