Cruise ships are set to return to the Bay of Plenty in about three months' time after two-and-a-half year hiatus when the Government closed the maritime border due to Covid-19 back in 2020.

Tourism Bay of Plenty is expecting the first cruiseliner to berth at the Port of Tauranga on October 26, and The Weekend Sun is investigating the economic impact this may have on our region.

According to Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Oscar Nathan, the port bookings are ‘subject to change,' however they expect to welcome 102 cruise voyages into Tauranga in the upcoming 2022/2023 season.

Oscar says this will bring almost 332,000 passengers and crew into the Bay of Plenty. 'It's very exciting for our region – particularly for the businesses that used to predominantly cater for cruiseline passengers and have been struggling to survive for the past two-and-a-half years while our maritime border has been closed,” says Oscar.

Onshore visit value

'We know many of our residents will also be looking forward to seeing these impressive passenger vessels back in our waters, along with the vibe that all these international visitors will bring.”

Oscar says during the most recent 2019/2020 cruise season – which was shortened by the March 2020 Covid-19 border closure – cruise visits contributed an estimated $74m to our region, and in 2018/2019 season brought $89m to the region.

'A lot of this money was spent on passenger transport, tourism activities, retail, and replenishing onboard supplies, so these types of businesses are eagerly anticipating the return of cruise.”

Oscar says while onshore visits might be short – usually just a day – research shows that many passengers use these voyages to try different port destinations and then return to their favourite places for a longer period later on. 'This highlights the value and importance of these short onshore visits.”

He adds New Zealand is one of the last countries to fully open its borders – on July 31 this year –which has caused the country to 'lose ground” to other overseas destinations that resumed international bookings months ago.

Strongest ever sales

'However, cruise companies around the world are experiencing their strongest ever sales right now and this is evidenced by the high number of voyages and passengers that have booked to visit Tauranga next season.

'There's a lot of pent-up demand from people wanting to do their ‘bucket list' holiday, as well as those that are holding credit for cruises that were cancelled earlier in the pandemic.”

Tauranga Business Chamber is also welcoming the return of cruise ships to Tauranga.

'The hardest hit business sectors will be gearing up for their return. Cruise ships are also very popular with local residents flocking to Pilot Bay to welcome and farewell the impressive looking vessels,” says CEO Matt Cowley

When asked if this will have a drastic impact on other industries in Tauranga, Matt says the cruise ships provide a ‘nice complement' to the year-round domestic tourism market.

'International tourism contributes a relatively small amount to the Western Bay economy, but it is targeted at those sectors who were most impacted during the pandemic restrictions.

Boost community morale

'It will also likely trigger a noticeable boost in local community morale seeing cruise ships reconnect us with the world after the pandemic.”

Matt adds it's a shame the ships were not allowed to dock late last summer 'when our vaccination levels were high and rapid antigen tests were becoming common practice in NZ”.