Passengers on the cruise ship Dawn Princess said this week they were coming in "blind" and had not been told of the attractions in Mount Maunganui.
The Melbourne-based ship visited the Port of Tauranga on Wednesday as part of a 12-night cruise.
Mount Mainstreet manager Leanne Brown believes that Mount retailers are not benefiting from the cruise visits, because passengers are whisked away on pre-booked tours as soon as they arrive.
Passengers spoken to in Mount Maunganui confirmed they were not told of free activities such as visiting the Mount Main Beach, walking up or around Mauao, or about the local shops and cafes.
Geoff Gay, of Melbourne, said passengers were given virtually no information about the area apart from the tours on offer.
"The ship's more interested in selling commission-based tours rather than giving local information," Mr Gay said.
"I'd rather spend the money [when I get to] the town rather than on the ship, where they get the commission."
While most passengers had pre-booked tours, he and wife Kathleen preferred to explore on their own.
"We would rather get off the ship and wander round the local shops.
"We don't want to get carted off out of town."
Alan Caldow, a veteran of eight cruises, said tours were "a rip-off".
"We haven't booked one tour since we have been on this boat."
Mr Caldow gave an example of a Dunedin tour which could be prebooked for $299 including lunch, or bought independently for just $136, not including lunch.
Brian Wroe, also of Melbourne, said passengers were arriving "blind" at the Port of Tauranga.
He did not know what to expect when he wandered off the ship into the Mount Mainstreet area, and believed more passengers would have visited if they had know what was on offer.
"I didn't know anything about the place," he said.
"People need to be told. This is beautiful - I love this place, it's perfect. When we looked at it on the map I thought 'I don't want to go, there, it looks like a bit of a dive'.
"[But] we are very impressed. Everybody is laidback and friendly."
All passengers spoken to mentioned the warm welcome they had received by the volunteer local guides from the Lioness Club, organised by Mount Mainstreet.
"This is the first stop we have had where there were tourism people giving out information," Mr Caldow said.
Volunteer guide Heather Green said most passengers wanted to "wander", and did not know what was available in Mount Maunganui.
"They want to know where the town is and where the beach is.
"They really appreciate the welcome.
"They just want to just do nothing - I suppose it's busy and regimented on board."
Ms Brown said she hoped that, over time, more passengers would learn about Mount Maunganui through word of mouth.
"I think over a period of time as more people go cruising, there will be repeat customers and people who have been here before.
"And as the crew gets to know what services are here, they will be able to pass that on," Ms Brown said.
Mount Maunganui retailers will meet this month to address the lack of cruise-ship passengers making their way to the downtown shopping area.
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