The Majestic Princess is the first of 103 cruise ships scheduled to visit the region's shores this season. Photo / NZME
From Tahiti to Tauranga, thousands of cruise ship passengers are set to arrive this weekend on the first ship to dock in two-and-a-half years.
But despite the hiatus, this season is set to compare to some of the busiest ever and visitors are expected to boost the Bay of Plenty economy by millions of dollars.
The Majestic Princess is the first of 103 cruise ships scheduled to visit the region's shores this season, carrying about 3500 passengers and 1300 staff. It is due to arrive from Tahiti at 5.30am Saturday.
It is the first of Princess Cruises' 19 visits to the port this season.
Princess Cruises' Asia Pacific, UK and Europe senior vice president Stuart Allison said it was thrilled to return to New Zealand and contribute to the restart of cruise tourism.
Princess was scheduled to bring more than 50,000 guests to Tauranga over 19 visits this season.
Over the next six months, it was estimated the economic impact of Princess guests and crew would be above $17 million in the Bay of Plenty alone, he said.
The Majestic left Los Angeles on September 24. More than 65 per cent of passengers are from North America.
"She is the first cruise ship to dock in regional New Zealand since the pause in operations, marking the start of the summer cruise season in New Zealand," Allison said.
He said its guests were excited to be in the country and explore "the gorgeous" Bay of Plenty.
More than 1500 passengers were booked to do tours in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, and the Bay of Islands as part of the voyage.
Port of Tauranga chief executive Leonard Sampson said it was the first cruise ship in port since the Seven Seas Navigator visited on March 17, 2020.
The 2019/2020 season was cut short, at 106 ships, by the pandemic. The season before there was a record 116 visits.
In their absence, the berth was used for other cargoes such as kiwifruit charter vessels.
"We're delighted to welcome cruise ships again as it means a big boost for the Bay of Plenty and Waikato tourism industries, which have really suffered during the pandemic."
The passenger vessels were also a spectacular sight for locals as they entered and departed, he said.
Finding staff had been a challenge recently, and he said the Port still wanted to hear from anyone wanting summer work.
Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Oscar Nathan said in the last full cruise season in 2018/2019, cruise contributed $89m to the Coastal Bay of Plenty region and $565m to the New Zealand economy.
"So this weekend's arrival is a really exciting and momentous step as the tourism industry moves forward from all the Covid-19 restrictions that we've had."
Traveller demand had built up, he said, and globally many cruise companies were reporting their highest-ever sales.
"The economic benefit is obvious, but we're also really looking forward to the multi-national vibe these passengers and crew contribute to our region."
Visiting ships will bring more than 170,000 passengers and almost 73,000 crew into the region over the next six months.
Nathan said many businesses were small operators that coped relatively well while the border was closed, thanks to local and domestic support.
"I have a lot of respect for everyone who hung on, pivoted, or who had to withdraw from the market during that difficult time."
The most challenging aspect for most of its tourism operators was determining how much they wanted to, or could, scale up for the coming visitor season.
"Some businesses in our region, like tour and transportation services, were significantly impacted by the loss of international visitors."
They had been under pressure to rebuild their teams, fleets and services while the job market for transport drivers was tight.
"We're also well aware of the pressures that the hospitality and retail sectors are under to attract and retain staff, and we hope that the revision of the working visa rules will help with this soon."
It had been working with local operators for "many months", he said, and had also established a pop-up i-SITE at the port.
Bethlehem Coachlines was also restarting its city tour to service passengers from the larger cruise ships, while the Wednesday Challenge was extending its pilot ferry service to offer a special timetable to support the arrival of the Majestic Princess.
The first Tourism Bay of Plenty ambassadors to volunteer for the upcoming cruise season have also been gearing up to share their local knowledge with cruise passengers.
Tourism Bay of Plenty cruise supervisor Nicole Ellis said they needed more.
"It's a great way to contribute to the busy, multinational vibe that makes our city so special during the peak visitor season."
RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson said, given the city's proximity to Tauranga, between 35 and 40 per cent of cruise passengers visited Rotorua.
He said Rotorua was "absolutely" ready to welcome back visitors.
"Over the past two years, businesses have spent a lot of time and resources developing their offerings and creating new products so that visitors have a deeper experience."
Examples he gave were Skyline's new luge tracks, and the new Rotorua Ziplines at Okere Falls.
There had also been a shift toward creating "a more meaningful and authentic" experience where a visitor invested time and received a memorable experience.
"Because of this we are expecting more long haul visitors staying longer in search of richer and deeper experiences where they can connect with local culture."
Other tourism businesses had worked to adopt Māori cultural elements by engaging local Māori cultural advisors to ensure the mana and integrity of their work was enhanced, he said.
But like most sectors, many operators were struggling to find skilled staff.
Rotorua Business Chamber chief executive Bryce Heard said the industry would welcome any addition to the incoming visitor numbers.
He said Covid-19 had the biggest impact on international tourism-dependent businesses and many closed their doors, even temporarily.
"This led to loss of staff and now we see the pandemic restrictions receding, the urgent needs are switching from shortage of customers to shortage of quality staff.
"In Rotorua we have the best and most diverse international tourism offering in New Zealand and we are eager to see these services back into full swing. So, bring it on."
Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley said it welcomed the return of cruise ships.
"Those businesses that were hardest hit from Covid-19 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."
In the wider scheme of things, he said international tourism made only a small contribution to the Western Bay economy, but tourism spending was targeted at businesses most impacted during the pandemic restrictions.
"It will also likely trigger a noticeable boost in local community morale seeing cruise ships reconnect us with the world after the pandemic."
He echoed what others had said about widespread staff shortages.
The mānuka honey company has cut staff by around 70 to save money and reduce debt.