However, the decline in cruise bookings is a nationwide issue.
It was revealed in May that cruise ship visits are expected to drop at 20 of 21 New Zealand ports for the upcoming season, with Timaru being the exception.
Napier Port chief executive Todd Dawson said the feedback from the cruise industry is that they find the New Zealand and Australian market challenging at the moment in terms of cost and barriers to entry, including biofouling management requirements.
Biofouling management requirements are regulations designed to prevent the spread of invasive species.
“New Zealand’s been seen a little bit unfavourably by the cruise industry, so we’re working with all the other ports to try to correct that at the moment,” he said.
“There’s been some pretty strong market conditions in the Northern Hemisphere, and that’s where they’re directing their capacity, where they’re making the most money.
“We think bookings will be subdued for the next couple of years before we expect to see those numbers coming back up again. Cruise lines generally look two to three years out.”
General manager at Gannet Safaris Overland in Te Awanga, Sophie Phillips, said cruise ship passengers make up about 35% of their business.
“So we will be down [this season], but I just have to then concentrate on the ships that we do have in and getting as high numbers of tourists off them as we can,” she said.
Phillips said she was also expecting cruise numbers to Hawke’s Bay to increase again in the 2027/28 season.
Napier City Business Inc general manager Pip Thompson said although cruise numbers are down, there are still 60 ships full of tourists coming this summer.
“We’re more worried about who is coming and how well we can look after them and the experience that we can offer them in our city,” she said.
Thompson said Napier Business Inc was working with local bodies like Napier Port, Hawke’s Bay Tourism and Napier City Council to have more cruise ships come into the city during future cruise seasons.
But, she said it all comes down to central government decision-making that would make it a lot easier for more cruises to come into Napier and potentially stay in the port longer.
Napier MP Katie Nimon said Ovation of the Seas, the fourth-largest cruise ship in the world, was not scheduled to visit this season and this was “largely” the reason cruise numbers were down.
“Regardless, Napier remains a top destination for cruise, and I hope that the ships that are visiting this season bring repeat visitors and increased spend,” she said.
“The Government is backing cruise tourism growth through new biosecurity measures, stronger cruise connectivity, and supporting Napier Port with world-class facilities like Te Whiti Wharf.”
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.
