Wellington, Sep 10 (TIWN) Arrivals and departures across the New Zealand border fell in July 2021 from the previous two months, due to ongoing interruptions to two-way quarantine-free travel with Australia, the country's statistics department Stats NZ said on Friday.

Total movements across the New Zealand border in July 2021 were 147,900, down from 189,500 in May 2021 and 175,500 in June 2021, Stats NZ said.  Trans-Tasman travel made up almost three-quarters of all New Zealand border crossings in July 2021, it said. 

"The Trans-Tasman travel bubble has been the main driver of border crossings since it started in mid-April 2021," population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said in a statement.  The fewer border crossings seen in July 2021 reflect ongoing pauses in travel from some Australian states and territories in July, and the suspension of quarantine-free travel from Australia to New Zealand in late July, Islam said.  Provisional data for August 2021 shows a further fall in the number of border crossings. This also reflects the suspension of quarantine-free travel from New Zealand to Australia in mid-August, he said.