9 hours ago
Bay of Islands cruise ship numbers set to plummet
Cruise ships feature prominently in the Bay of Islands tourist scene over summer.
Photo:
NZME
The Bay of Islands $23.34 million cruise ship industry will be hit hard next season with the number of visiting ships set to plummet.
Bookings for the tourist mecca's 2025/2026 cruise season have almost halved from the peak two years ago.
A cruise ship representative blamed the decline on a number of factors affecting New Zealand's cruise industry, including tougher biofouling rules along with compounding cost increases from central government, ports and regional authorities.
There are just 47 cruise ships scheduled to visit the Bay of Islands for the coming season.
This compares with 92 cruise ships booked for the peak 2023/2024 season.
The coming season's numbers have reinforced the annual bookings decline in the Bay of Islands since the peak.
Bookings for the 2024/2025 season were almost 20 percent down on 2023/2024. Seventy-four ships were booked.
New Zealand Cruise Association chairperson Tansy Tompkins said the drop in numbers had many in the industry deeply concerned about the future.
"New Zealand's booking momentum, has slowed significantly, and while final itineraries are still being confirmed, current projections indicate a major downturn," Tompkins said.
The decline from the peak was "sobering", Tompkins said.
She said the forecast for the coming season put New Zealand back to 2017/2018 season levels.
Tompkins said the risk of cruise ships being refused entry into New Zealand because of dirty hulls was one of several key reasons for the decline.
The risk threatened New Zealand cruise ship destination brand.
Tougher biofouling rules
for visiting cruise ships came into force for the
Bay of Islands
and the rest of New Zealand in October 2023, just as the 2023/2024 season got underway.
Eighty-seven cruise ships arrived in Bay of Islands' 2023/2024 season - meaning five vessels did not turn up.
Four cruise ships did not turn up in the 2024/2025 season - including the last two for the season due on 30 May - due to weather, according to Far North Holdings chief operating officer Robert Binney.
All cruise ships entering New Zealand must have no more than a thin layer of slime and goose barnacles on their hulls when they arrive.
Biofouling can introduce foreign marine species. These can threaten the environment, economy, and cultural values. It happens when too much sea life - including foreign algae, barnacles and other marine growth and may include shrimps and crabs - builds up on ship hulls.
Tompkins said unpredictability around the introduction of new regulations also contributed to the decline. Cruise companies had to deal with the outcome of this when passengers booked up to two years in advance.
And New Zealand was now the world's most expensive place for cruise ships to visit with significant compounding cost increases including from central government, ports and regional authorities.
This was putting New Zealand at a competitive disadvantage.
She said senior cruise line executives had a perception New Zealand was difficult to operate in and an unwelcoming destination.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
