Wellington, Jun 13 (IANS): New Zealand residents took fewer overseas trips but for longer durations in the April 2023 year compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic, with more trips visiting friends and relatives, the national statistics department said on Tuesday.

According to Stats NZ, an increase in the proportion of New Zealand residents taking longer trips overseas in the April 2023 year may reflect pent-up demand after two years of Covid-19-related travel restrictions, Xinhua news agency reported.

"There was a higher proportion visiting friends and relatives in 2023 and relatively fewer for business, compared with 2019," Stats NZ population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said.

Longer trips, such as trips of three weeks or more dominated visits to India, Britain, the Philippines and China, he said.

There were 1.99 million New Zealand resident arrivals in the April 2023 year, which is 65 per cent of the 3.06 million who arrived back in April 2019 year, Stats NZ said.

New Zealand-resident travellers spent an average of 24 days abroad in the April 2023 year compared with an average of 19 days in the April 2019 year, it said.

"Of New Zealand residents travelling overseas, the proportion away for three weeks or more has increased from one in four in 2019 to one in three in 2023," he said.

New Zealand-resident travellers include both New Zealand and non-New Zealand citizens living in the country who are returning from a trip overseas of less than 12 months, Stats NZ said.