Ready or not, here we come

The Western Bay will next season host a big increase in cruise ship visits, and with the added attraction of the Rugby World Cup the local tourism organisation is gearing up to handle the surge in visitors.
Already, a group of 1655 French rugby supporters have decided to use Tauranga as a base for three weeks from late September. They have booked accommodation and will be looking for things to do.
At this stage, 81 cruise ship visits - including seven for the Rugby World Cup - are scheduled for 2011/12, an increase of 34 per cent on the busy season just completed.
A record 202,000 visitors, 140,000 passengers and 62,000 crew, are expected to pour through Port of Tauranga from October through to April next year - a massive 80,000 increase on last season.
A total of 54 ships berthed at the port during 2010/11, bringing 120,780 visitors (83,820 passengers and 36,960 crew) and injecting $17 million of spending into the local economy.
Next season the local tour operators will be busier - the "floating palaces" will be arriving more regularly, on average every two to four days rather than seven days, and two ships will tie up on the same day on 16 occasions.
Royal Caribbean International's Celebrity Solstice, which makes seven visits between December 10 and January 31, will be the biggest cruise ship to visit Tauranga. It has 19 decks, is 314m long (three rugby fields joined up), and carries up to 4350 people, 2850 passengers and 1500 crew - 650 more than Diamond Princess' capacity.
The cruise ships carrying 13,400 rugby supporters, Orion, Le Diamant, Rhapsody of the Seas (two visits), Pacific Dawn (two) and Volendam, will call between October 2-20 - and three of them will stay overnight, enabling more than 5000 passengers to enjoy the city's restaurants and bars.
The 80-odd cruise ship visits next season will pour an estimated $30.4 million into the local economy - plus the world cup spending.
Tourism Bay of Plenty's acting general manager Glenn Ormsby said it was important to be ready by offering more local tours, packages and attractions for the visitors - and stop them from taking day-long coach trips to Rotorua.
"We need to harness the local operators and get them working more co-operatively," he said. "We have to offer more value, and that means we have to be rowing the waka in the same direction.
"Instead of having short, one-off trips to say Classic Flyers museum, or Waimarino Adventure Park, we need to package destinations and provide more palatable half-day tours.
"Then the visitors can have the rest of the time to themselves shopping and walking around Mauao and the city centre," said Mr Ormsby, whose contract has been extended to April next year.
Tourism Bay of Plenty, which covers the coastal area from Waihi Beach to Whakatane, has formed an advisory group, including operators, to plan and co-ordinate an expanded tourist offering.
Mr Ormsby has talked to key people in Waihi Beach, Katikati and Whakatane about jointly organising local tours and events in their areas. The former general manager of Tourism Whitsundays and Oamaru-based Waitaki Development Board, Mr Ormsby believes the Western Bay can offer more cultural attractions.
"We have different stories to tell than Rotorua - and this can be another point of difference for our region," he said.
Paparoa Marae in Te Puna has organised visits for many years, and it is likely to be joined on the cultural path by Huria Marae in Judea and two other iwi groups. Paparoa provides a traditional welcome, storytelling, a hangi and entertainment by a cultural group.
"You think of Maketu and its history; Huria could link in with The Elms; there's plenty to tell the visitors about our past," said Mr Ormsby.
He said more attractions could be developed such as Matakana Island, the Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust near Te Puke, the kauri grove and Bird Gardens near Katikati, helicopter excursions to White Island, and bush and walks in the Kaimais and around Waihi.
A popular addition last season was the hop on, hop off Sights of the City bus tour, operated by Bethlehem Coachlines. The tour involved a 60 minute loop between the Mount Hot Pools, downtown Mount Maunganui for shopping, Classic Flyers Aviation Museum, The Cargo Shed for arts and craft, Tauranga city centre for art gallery, shops and cafes, and The Elms.
"The feedback we've had is that the Sights of the City tour has been huge this year," said Mr Ormsby. "We need more of this type of product - to increase local sales and to be more compelling for visitors."
He said fewer cruise ship passengers were heading for Rotorua. Fifty per cent of passengers who booked tours after disembarking stayed local rather than travelling to Rotorua - compared with 42 per cent in 2009/10.
Also, 42 per cent more passengers booked tours through the i-SITE compared with the 2009/10 season - an office was established on the wharf for the first time - and the tours included Rotorua and Western Bay.
Another trend was a 27 per cent increase in Australian cruise passengers, slightly less Americans, and also a mix of British, European and New Zealanders.
"The Australians behave differently," Mr Ormsby said. "They are more independent and more adventurous and will often find their own transport. The rental cars are sold out when the Aussies are in town; they are not touched when the Americans are here.
"The big growth in Australian passengers is encouraging," he said. "If they like their first visit here off the cruise ship, then we can get them back as free independent travellers and they can stay a week or two in Tauranga," he said.
Notwithstanding the cruise ship visits and Rugby World Cup, Tourism Bay of Plenty is developing new plans to attract more domestic and international visitors here, particularly from Auckland and Australia.
Mr Ormsby said a Western Bay tourism group should make up to four roadshows a year to Auckland, meeting the inbound tour operators and targeting the corporates and business travellers.
"We can take 10 to 15 local operators with us and set up displays in a hotel conference room. The inbound tour operators in Auckland will co-operate if we make the effort to go there.
"The domestic market is still big for us," he said. "We want to get the business couples down here for a 'short break' of three to five days, and we need to capture more of the events and conference and incentives markets."
Mr Ormsby said more and more international visitors are looking for other places to see, "and we need them to take a different route over the Bombay Hills, turning left for Tauranga instead of heading right."
In a new move to further tackle the international market, Tourism Bay of Plenty is talking with different parties, including Tourism New Zealand, about promoting a campaign in Australia and using either Rotorua or Hamilton airport as the point of entry for the holidaymakers.
"We want a campaign we can measure and get the best return on our investment. Discussions are continuing with both airport committees," Mr Ormsby said.
Tourism Bay of Plenty will decide which airport to fly with - either Rotorua to Sydney with Air New Zealand or Hamilton to Queensland with Virgin Blue - and both parties will make a joint bid for government funding.
The campaign will be timed to attract Australian visitors to the Western Bay in the shoulder season, outside the busy summer period. "We have to have a sustainable visitor industry all year round - and not just rely on the cruise ships and special events like the Rugby World Cup," Mr Ormsby said.