KEY POINTS:
As tough times fall on the New Zealand tourism sector, fair winds continue to blow through the cruise industry.
Figures released today show a record 168,000 passenger and crew arrivals last season, which meant $204 million being put into local economies from Auckland to Otago.
Cruise New Zealand said today that the New Zealand cruise industry has grown from 27 cruises and 19,400 passengers in the 1996/1997 season, to last season's 116, 200 passengers and 51,500 crew on 98 cruises.
The season runs from the end of September to April.
Group chairman Craig Harris said international cruise lines are expected to make a record 520 port calls throughout New Zealand in the coming season.
The biggest beneficiary of the cruise industry is Auckland, which attracted 60 per cent of the direct expenditure - $123.8 million.
Bay of Plenty was next with $17.7m, Canterbury $16.8 million, Otago $15.1 million, Wellington $10.4 million and Southland $7.1 million.
But all rapid growth does come at a cost, and Harris said pressure was now going on port facilities, particularly in Auckland.
"In the following seasons, based on port call bookings, there will be a 15 per cent increase in passenger numbers. This will put pressure on infrastructure and tourist services at many destinations, which are already facing a number of challenges," he said.
Americans made up 39 per cent of international passengers in the 2007/8 season and Australians 24 per cent. New Zealanders who fill winter cruises to the Pacific account for 19 per cent of all passengers.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said the cruise industry was a growing part of US visitor arrivals to New Zealand, which stood at 216,493 in the year to June.
"Research shows that close to 70 per cent of American visitors who come to New Zealand on a cruise want to return for a longer holiday.
"That means cruise passengers represent a great opportunity for New Zealand to attract repeat visitors from the US, where residents are thinking hard about spending on big ticket items like holidays because of economic uncertainty and high fuel prices," said Hickton.
Overall visitor arrival numbers for all tourists released last month showed rising fuel prices and the global credit crunch were hitting US travel plans.
Visitor arrivals were down 2.1 per cent to just over 140,000 visitors in June compared to a year earlier.
Hickton said the ``election effect', which causes Americans to delay making major decisions until after the vote, and concerns over the economy appear to have hit. United States arrivals for June were down 12.4 per cent.
- HERALD ONLINE
