Surge in arrivals
February 2017 was Australia's busiest ever month for permanent and long term arrivals, with 103,570 recorded entries, and annual long term arrivals are now surging too.
The annual uplift in permanent settlers is largely being driven by Indian migrants, as well as an increase in the humanitarian intake from countries such as Iraq.
This has more than offset a relative dearth of New Zealanders and Britons coming for the long term.
This has more than offset a relative dearth of New Zealanders and Britons coming for the long term.
Lower dollar bites
Over the two months since January there was been a significant fall in the seasonally adjusted number of overseas trips being made by Aussies, from 848,000 to under 804,000.
This is one of the ways in which a lower dollar helps to rebalance the economy, by encouraging Aussies to spend at home, and by bringing more tourists into the country.
And, it's demonstrably now working.
Annual short term arrivals flourishing to a new record high of 8.4 million was largely attributable to visitors from China and other parts of Asia, Japan, and the United States.
The growth in the number of visitors from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong continues to be astounding, with more than 525,000 arrivals in the first quarter of 2017 alone, being the period which encompasses the Lunar New Year.
On a related point, the number of short term arrivals for education purposes is also tracking at record highs, with the big spike in February reflecting the beginning of the semester.
International students from China in particular are expected to be a key driver of permanent migration into Australia over the coming years.
International students from China in particular are expected to be a key driver of permanent migration into Australia over the coming years.
The wrap
To reiterate a point made here regularly, it is important not to read too much into the long term arrivals figures.
But there's no doubt that net overseas migration into Australia is on an upwards trajectory, and tracking at 4-year highs.
And the Aussie permanent migration programme will remain at a record ceiling of 190,000.
Meanwhile the lower dollar is encouraging more domestic tourism from home and abroad, which is a positive vibe for Sydney and Queensland.
And, on that note, I'll be wandering off up to the Sunny Coast myself over the weekend.
Cheers for reading and sharing my blog this week - the monthly readership touched 54,000 yesterday - and have a good one!
But there's no doubt that net overseas migration into Australia is on an upwards trajectory, and tracking at 4-year highs.
And the Aussie permanent migration programme will remain at a record ceiling of 190,000.
Meanwhile the lower dollar is encouraging more domestic tourism from home and abroad, which is a positive vibe for Sydney and Queensland.
And, on that note, I'll be wandering off up to the Sunny Coast myself over the weekend.
Cheers for reading and sharing my blog this week - the monthly readership touched 54,000 yesterday - and have a good one!
