Tauranga is one of three locations which has been named as a top-rated destination in the Cruise Critic's 2018 Cruisers' Choice Destination Awards.

The title is shared between the Bay of Plenty city, Akaroa and Wellington, with all locations being named in the top five of the ‘Top Rated Australia and New Zealand Cruise Destinations' category.

Cruise Critic is the world's leading cruise reviews site and online cruise community, and its annual Cruisers' Choice Destination Awards name the most popular cruise destinations in 18 cruise regions worldwide.

Tourism Bay of Plenty CEO Kristin Dunne says she's ‘delighted' that Tauranga has been recognised as a desirable cruise location.

'This reflects the hard work of our Tauranga Cruise i-SITE staff, cruise ambassadors and our Cruise Manager, all who combine to deliver fantastic levels of service in underwhelming facilities.

'The Coastal Bay of Plenty is renowned for its welcoming spirit, with the region scoring among the highest local friendliness satisfaction rate from cruise passengers.

'The friendliness of our community means all our visitors leave with wonderful lasting memories of our region and begin planning for another visit in the future.”

She says comments and reviews of the region made on the Cruise Critic website, provide a great insight into how passengers view it.

'Some of the comments speak of our attractive seaside resort town Mount Maunganui, the beautiful beaches, the views from the top of Mauao, the stunning coastal scenery, kayaking through caves of glow worms, kiwifruit orchard tours, and the accessibility to other local attractions.”

Kristin says while the recognition is fantastic, it highlights a need to improve services in the region.

'As the cruise ship numbers grow, our already stretched and unwelcoming facilities will become even more unfit for our cruise passengers.

'The value of these passengers, their reviews, and their propensity to return to the region and recommend the Coastal Bay of Plenty to their friends and families is vital to our economy.

'To prepare for the forecast growth in cruise passenger and visitor numbers, we must have fit-for-purpose facilities before they are out-grown to the point of disaster.

Kristin says the current cruise situation presents significant health and safety concerns for both cruise passengers and local residents.

'The Regional Cruise Gateway and Welcome Hub on Coronation Park is desperately needed to welcome these passengers and safely disperse them out into the region.”

She says in order to maintain the reputation of being a ‘welcoming region', we must prepare for both the negative and positive consequences of that growth.

'A fit-for-purpose facility is critical to meet the demands of the predicted cruise sector growth.

'During the 2017-2018 season, the Coastal Bay of Plenty welcomed 214,940 cruise passengers and crew.

'We estimate well over 50 per cent of those cruise passengers and crew stayed in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui, either through local tours or just seeing the sights themselves.”

She says the upcoming 2018-2019 cruise season will see a record-breaking 320,166 passengers and crew and 110 ships berth in the Port of Tauranga – which is up 35 per cent on last season's 81 ships.

'The Coastal Bay of Plenty will welcome 24 double ship days, 2 triple ship days, 9 overnight visits, and 7 visits from the world's fourth-largest ship ‘Ovation of the Seas'. The first ship is just around the corner on the October 5.”

The Stats NZ's Tourism Satellite Account 2017 reports that international cruise activity for the 2016-2017 season injected $59m into the local Bay of Plenty economy.

'This local cruise activity spend represents 19% of the total national cruise spend,” says Kristin. 'Tauranga welcomes the second highest international cruise activity spend second only to Auckland.”

She says the cruise sector makes a valuable contribution to our region's economy.

'New Zealand Cruise Association estimates the 2018-2019 cruise sector will generate 1,224 cruise-related jobs for the Bay of Plenty.

'Cruise forecasts prepared for TBOP by tourism statistics experts Fresh Info Co estimate that the 2018-2019 season will inject $85 million into the local economy.

'These figures are evidence that our region's reputation as a world-class destination continues to soar, as cruising becomes more popular and more achievable.

'Cruise is the world's fastest growing sector of the travel industry and our region is no exception. To ensure we can continue to welcome these passengers with pride and integrity and cope with the forecast growth, we must have the appropriate infrastructure.”