Bay of Plenty tourism businesses are gearing up for a welcome boost in customer spending as the cruise ship season approaches.

Port of Tauranga is set to host 89 ships from mid-October to mid-April next year, bringing more than 161,000 passengers and almost 70,000 crew members.

Previous years saw millions injected into the Bay of Plenty economy, including $74 million during the 2019-20 season despite Covid arriving.

Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Oscar Nathan says the annual return of cruise ships was a “real invigorator” for the region.

Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Oscar Nathan. Photo / Supplied.

“The way passengers and crew explore when they’re onshore, even though it’s only for a short time, generates essential revenue for a whole range of interconnected visitor sector businesses.”

The Port of Tauranga was a popular stop on many global voyage itineraries, which meant passengers of all nationalities would be regularly disembarking to “explore near and far”, Oscar says.

The first cruise ship scheduled to visit will be Celebrity Edge on October 18 and the largest ship booked was Ovation of the Seas, which would dock on January 2 and carry up to 4180 passengers and 1500 crew members. Ovation of the Seas has remained the largest cruise ship to dock at the Port of Tauranga since its first visit in 2016.

“Cruise ships have always been a core component of the summer vibe at Mount Maunganui and the wider coastal Bay of Plenty,” Oscar says.

The most recent national data showed retailers reaped the biggest benefit from onshore cruise visitor spending, followed by food and beverage providers, arts and recreation operators, and travel and tour services.

Oscar says passengers’ consumer habits ranged and where some booked onshore excursions in advance, others were more spontaneous and considered their options once they arrived.

This year, the number of port visits was down 17.5 per cent from last year’s 108 ships.

Oscar says this was directly attributed to increased operating costs, concerns about stringent New Zealand hull cleaning requirements, high global competition with other port destinations, safe access concerns in the Red Sea, and the delayed 2022 reopening of the maritime border, which hit forward bookings.

“Tourism is a very agile sector – we’re used to dealing with micro and macro influences which can impact visitor trends,” he says.

Calling all crew

Never mind the passengers, it’s adrenalin-seeking cruise ship crew members one Tauranga tourism business aims to attract this season.

Skydive Tauranga owner Gui Calmelet says his business looked forward to this younger crowd who tended to have cash flow from having “everything included” on the ship and wanted to do “exciting” activities.

Skydive Tauranga owner Gui Calmelet.

Gui says in recent years, however, there had been an increase in passengers who skydived, especially from the Virgin Voyagers, a brand that targeted a younger crowd.

Gui says Mount Maunganui was a sought-after location for sky diving, with the site located a short drive from the dock and the view of the cruise ship on the way down.

Mount Water Bikes owner Gordy Lockhart says it was exciting to look forward to reopening the seasonal business when water temperatures warmed.

Gordy Lockhart, owner of Mount Water Bikes, photographed during Tauranga Moana Pride week. Photo / Alex Cairns.

Gordy says his main target audience was young families travelling from over the ditch, as older passengers tended to prefer terra firma after four days at sea.

Sean Marsh, Te Puia New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute sales and marketing general manager, says the cruise market continued to be important for their business and they looked forward to welcoming cruise visitors again this summer season.

“Through and after the Covid-19 pandemic response, we made some deliberate decisions about evolving and enhancing our tourism offering to ensure we are delivering a deeper and more meaningful manuhiri (visitor) experience,” Sean says.

The season had an important impact, not only on Te Puia but the wider Rotorua economy as well, he says.

Te Puia New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute sales and marketing general manager Sean Marsh.

Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa general manager Debbie Robertson says the spa treatments Wai Ariki offered aligned “nicely” with the elevated travel interests of the cruise ship demographics – something they aimed to capitalise on.

“We recognise the great role that cruise ships have to play in bringing people to our beautiful country.”

Debbie says 80 per cent of Wai Ariki visitors were from within New Zealand and 20 per cent from overseas.

The company would work with shuttle companies and boutique operators to make Rotorua “an unmissable stop” for cruise ship visitors.

Bath in Wai Ariki's hot springs with a view.

Ready2Roll Tours and Transfers director Carleen Dahya says her Rotorua-based company frequently drove tourists from Tauranga to Rotorua destinations such as Hell’s Gate, whitewater rafting, Agrodome and Skyline Rotorua.

Carleen says she was not worried about fewer ships visiting this year as most of her market was international travellers booking private multi-day tours.

Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley. Photo / Mead Norton.

Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley says the impact of cruise visitors would be “good news” to operators, retailers and hospitality venues as they boost spending in the quieter shoulder tourism seasons.

“While most of our tourism spent is from domestic visitors, there are a number of businesses who are set up to primarily serve international tourists who are most impacted by cruise visitors,” Matt says.

His advice to businesses was the earlier they showcased offerings to passengers, the better.

“Think for creative ways to reach passengers as they purchase their ticket, on-board the ship, or as they disembark.”

• The full schedule of cruise ship visits for 2024/25 can be found on the Port of Tauranga website.

-Bay of Plenty Times