(Updates to add detail from Statistics New Zealand, comment from economist)
WELLINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - Tourism continued to shore up New Zealand's economy in May and net migration also remained firm.
The number of short-term visitors to New Zealand rose 9.6 percent on a year ago, setting a new May record, Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday.
"Holiday visitor arrivals from China exceeded those from Australia in May 2016," said population statistics manager Jo-Anne Skinner.
"This is only the second time this has ever happened, the first was in February 2015."
A booming tourism industry has helped offset a sharp decline in dairy exports.
Until recently, dairy was the backbone of the island nation's economy, representing around 25 percent of exports. But dairy prices have dropped sharply since scaling record highs in 2013, due to China's economic slowdown and global oversupply.
The total number of visitors for the year to the end of May was 3.29 million, also a record.
The numbers suggest that "tourism is still thundering along," said BNZ Economist Doug Steel.
New Zealand posted a seasonally adjusted net gain of 5,500 permanent and long-term migrants May, resulting in a net gain of 68,432 for the past year, the data showed.
