Cruise Ships Filling NZ Ports
The latest figures from Cruise New Zealand (CNZ) reveal a bumper season last year - September to April 2007 - with revenue of over NZ$204 million to local economies from Auckland to South. Forecasts are for a 2008/9 season that is even better.
'Auckland Harbour is enjoying a revenue boom from visiting cruise ships.'
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According to CNZ, the industry had grown from 27 cruises and 19,400 passengers in the 1996/97 season to 98 cruises and 116,200 passengers accompanied by 51,500 crew last season.
Craig Harris, CNZ chairman, said ports are struggling to accommodate the rapid growth, and infrastructure and tourist services were working at maximum capacity to cope with the influx of passengers.
Americans were the most prolific cruisers, making up 39 percent of international passengers. Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said nearly 70 percent of them said they hoped to return for a longer holiday.
Hickton said it was important New Zealand looked after visitors to ensure repeat visits, especially as many from the US were cutting back on holiday spending as the economy slumped and fuel prices soared.
Increasingly, Aussies are choosing cruising as a new means of 'crossing the ditch' to New Zealand.
One Australian cruise company is dedicating two luxury liners to the New Zealand market.
The 77,000-tonne luxury liner, Sun Princess is one of the larger visitors to cruise Milford Sound, and those visits are set to increase, with plans to dedicate an extra 12 cruises over the next two seasons to the sights of New Zealand in response to heavy demand.
The Sun Princess will dock throughout New Zealand, including ports such as Auckland, Milford Sounds, Tauranga and Dunedin.
Luxury is very much the focus and the ship is staffed by a crew of 900, on hand 24 hours a day to cater to the passengers' every whim. Unlimited food, outdoor pools on the open deck, casinos and theatres showcasing local entertainment are all part of the offering.
New Zealand's appeal as a cruise ship destination is growing internationally with Auckland set to welcome a record 73 cruise ship visits during the 2007-08 cruise season - a massive 58 per cent increase on last season's 46 visits.
Tauranga is also expecting record breaking numbers for this season.
'In the summer cruise season, three years ago, Tauranga had 16 port calls by international cruise vessels. The increase to 49 this coming season shows tremendous growth and exceeds that of any other port in New Zealand' says Craig Harris.
'This is a reflection on the excellent port and tour facilities the Bay of Plenty has to offer' he adds.
Auckland reaped the biggest income from cruises last season taking in $123.8 million. There was a large drop after that with the Bay of Plenty seeing $17.7 million, Canterbury $16.8 million and Wellington $10.4 million.
More at cruisenewzealand.org.nz
by Jeni Bone 
redland bay, QLD
