Tauranga out to make the most of RWC cruise ship visits

At one point there will be three ships visiting Tauranga on the same day. Photo / Supplied

More than 26,000 visitors are expected to arrive in Tauranga on cruise ships during the Rugby World Cup and thousands more are expected on land, despite no games being played in the city.

Tourism Bay of Plenty has secured six cruise ships to visit the city during the campaign and event organisers are planning a large street festival.

The ships come in addition to a regular cruise season but Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Tim Burgess said the timing was not simply a case of good luck.

"These are different as the ships have been chartered by travel companies specifically to cater for RWC 2011 guests," he said.

At one point there will be three ships visiting on the same day.

Already 1175 guest nights in commercial accommodation have been confirmed for three nights during the cup.

Of those, about 900 people will take part in White Island tours.

Tauranga Rugby World Cup 2011 co-ordinator Penny Mitropoulos said organisers were focusing on celebrating the region through arts, culture and heritage.

Many of the events would be child-friendly.

"It's not all about partying," Ms Mitropoulos said.

"We will have a fan zone but we are already thinking more of a family environment.

"We are definitely focusing on more of 'this is what we have to offer'."

Fan zones will be areas where people can eat, drink and watch live streaming of games.

Baycourt is expected to become Tauranga's RWC 2011 headquarters, with uniformed volunteers becoming essential "go-to" people for visitors or anyone wanting to know about the Cup.

Nationally, more than 5000 volunteers are expected to help things run smoothly.

The close-off date for volunteer applications was September 24 and interviews for the volunteers are expected to begin next month.

A regional meeting for Rugby World Cup stakeholders is due to take place on November 4.

Ms Mitropoulos said although it was too early to put a finger on exact ideas designed to draw visitors in, there was a lot of liaising going on.

Tauranga will host the Samoan, Fijian and Russian rugby teams. "It will be quite a festival," she said.

- APN