New Zealand’s immigration website has said it saw a surge in traffic, as the results of the US election came in.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) said its website received 56,300 visits in a 24 hour period, an increase of almost 2,500%. The site has a daily average of 2,300 visits.
Canada’s immigration website also received a high amount of traffic on Wednesday, causing it to crash.
Donald Trump secured a surprise victory in the presidential election.
New Zealand Now’s website, which contains information about living, working, studying and investing in the country, also saw a similar spike in traffic.
“In the 24 hours up to 9am local time on Wednesday, NZ Now received 70,500 visits from the US compared to a usual daily average of 1,500 visits,” said INZ marketing manager Greg Forsythe in a statement to the BBC.
Online, some Americans expressed that their interest to move to New Zealand was a result of Mr Trump’s victory.
Image copyrightTWITTER/@SEULGICHU808RV
Image copyrightTWITTER/@BCBASSHEADBut not everyone from the country seemed to welcome Americans with open arms.
Image copyrightTWITTER/@TAIKAWAITITIMr Forsythe added that some 7,287 registrations had been received from Americans in the past 24 hours as compared to a normal amount of 3,000 registrations.
However, he added that these were purely “registrations of interest” and not visa applications.
–
Source: BBC