It has been a record year for cruise ship visits to the Port of Tauranga this year.
About 82 are scheduled to visit this season. On a couple of occasions there will be two - even three - in port together, which is brilliant for our tourism industry.
I was watching the arrival the other day of one of those floating hotels and it dawned on me that there is something missing from the arrival berth area at the port - a decent arrival terminal.
Now I'm not talking a large multi-storey terminal, although that would be nice. I just think we need some kind of arrival facility that impresses the thousands of visitors from the cruise liners.
And it doesn't have to be a permanent structure. You can build all sorts of structures now using canvas and PVC. The Cloud on Queen's Wharf in Auckland that was constructed for the Rugby World Cup is a perfect example. It doesn't have to be quite so elaborate or expensive but I think we need something as the cruise industry seems to be getting bigger ever year.
The benefit of having a covered arrivals area is immense. Firstly, it can act as a Customs/immigration-type area for local officials and cruise company personnel to process arrivals and departures in sheltered surroundings. More importantly if it was large enough it could act as a display and sales area for local products and services. The Bay could be put on display, similar to the event that was held in the Crystal Palace that was run by Priority One during the Arts Festival.
We have so many wonderful products in our area. Wineries such as Mills Reef and Morton Estate as well as Comvita and Zespri spring to mind. Those companies and others could have displays inside the arrival area for passengers to pick up brochures and perhaps talk to representatives about the products. There could be a big screen inside showing a brief video of the region. It's such a beautiful area we really should be putting it out there and not just loading the passengers on to a bunch of buses and shipping them off to prebooked destinations in Rotorua or Waikato.
Perhaps the "Tupa Waka" that was up for 10 days during Rugby World Cup would make the perfect arrivals hall. It fits the bill perfectly. Like many thousands of visitors I was one who went through the plastic waka during the RWC and it would certainly look fantastic on the Port of Tauranga wharf as cruise ships berth. It depicts the area and could have a full history inside of the local iwi story of Mauao and the Tauranga region.
As far as I know the whole structure is sitting in a shed somewhere not being used. It could be leased on an annual basis and used as the welcoming hall for the cruise season. There is plenty of room inside to display local products and feature local musicians and have a large screen to show off the region.
Imagine standing on the deck of one of those beautiful liners, sailing through the entrance to Tauranga Harbour and seeing in the distance a giant Maori canoe, and, as you slowly get closer, the sounds of a welcoming song drifting out from the canoe ... then descending the gangway off the ship and entering the canoe. How unique would that be and what an impression that would make on the arriving visitors. The ideas of what you could do inside the structure are endless but I think it's worth considering.
Tourism Bay of Plenty could do a deal with the Rotorua and Waikato regions to perhaps share the costs of the structure. Perhaps the Port of Tauranga could also come to the party. The good thing is it's already built so there are no design costs. It's just a matter of setting it up for the arrival of the first cruise ship of the season in late October and when the last one departs usually around April pulling it down again. How simple is that? Maybe someone else has thought about that idea and has already earmarked it.
I think it would look great and it certainly would not cost an arm and a leg.
That's my two pennies' worth.