Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Rhys Arrowsmith said cruises were the fastest growing sector in tourism and it was exciting for Tauranga to be a major player in the New Zealand cruise industry.
"The local community receives 12 per cent of the national cruise revenue, which equates to approximately $45 million into the local economy each season," Mr Arrowsmith said.
"We remain the biggest tour port in New Zealand but we are also pleased to see that 55 per cent of cruise passengers are staying in the local vicinity to enjoy the shopping, eateries and natural assets of the Mount or Tauranga, or to visit local attractions.
"We are expecting larger ships in the coming seasons, carrying more passengers and crew, and to remain one of the top five most visited ports in New Zealand."
The 2014-2015 season had 15 double-ship days and three triple-ship days.
Despite an estimated 91 ships this season, 83 ships arrived, making Tauranga one of the top three most called at cities in New Zealand, after Auckland.
The 2015-2016 season is set for only 79 ships, but an increased number of passengers and crew, as they would be larger ships.
Mount Mainstreet manager Peter Melgren said although this year's season was about the same as last year's for retailers there was no doubt the past decade had boomed.
Although many cruise ship visitors travelled out of town for tourist attractions, many came back to the Mount after realising what it had to offer.
"A lot of these passengers have been here more than once. A lot of them say they won't be ripped off in paying that level again for some of the things they are seeing [out of town]. We show them how much they can do here as independent travellers.
"That's a significant benefit to the community. We've had some come back already ... We've got people who live here now who first came on a cruise ship."
Mr Melgren said the Western Bay of Plenty was an amazing place and the Mount was effectively "the shop window" for many cruise ship passengers.
Mr Melgren said there were still plenty of things that could be done to help boost tourism locally, including offering untold cultural stories in a similar fashion to The Battle of Gate Pa exhibition.
Sally Cooke from Mainstreet Tauranga could not be reached for comment yesterday.