Tauranga's merged Mount Maunganui i-SITE pod moved to Salisbury Wharf for summer

The Mount i-SITE has moved to Salisbury Wharf for summer, merging with the cruise ticketing office. Photo / John Borren

Salisbury Wharf's old cruise ticketing office has been merged and replaced with the pop-up Mount i-SITE container.

The container was located in the old Phoenix carpark last summer but needed a new home when work began earlier this year to transform that site into a green space.

Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Kristin Dunne said combining the ticketing office with the i-Site was a temporary measure until the proposed Mount Maunganui i-SITE was built at 10 Salisbury Ave.

She said the combination provided a better customer service experience and also reduced overheads. It was rented from a Whakatāne business at a cost of $478 a month.

"The feedback so far has been extremely positive," she said.

"We have already had lots of local residents, domestic and international visitors call in while we were busy setting up for the first cruise ship today.

"We also still run a large sales and service operation within the Port of Tauranga grounds – for passengers only."

Dunne said a permanent visitor centre in Salisbury Ave was urgently required, given a 35 per cent increase in ships and passengers this seasons and continued forecast growth.

The $5 million project has run into funding trouble. While Tauranga City council had approved $4 million, two government funders had turned down applications for the remaining $1 million.

Opening hours
The i-SITE will be open daily from 10am to 4pm from November 19 to the end of the peak summer season. It will be open every day a cruise ship visits until the 19th.