Cruise ships pump $5m into Tairāwhiti economy

The National Geographic Orion's visit last weekend started the Gisborne cruise ship season. Photo / Chris Taewa

Cruise ships pumped $4.9 million into Tairāwhiti in the 2023-24 financial year and provided 34 jobs but rising costs in the industry are “hammering” New Zealand.

The figures come from the first detailed analysis of cruise tourism in New Zealand in an economic impact assessment jointly commissioned by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the New Zealand Cruise Association (NZCA).

The assessment shows there were 1011 ship visits to 21 ports and destinations around the country, from 54 ships, which delivered 1.55 million passenger visit days in 2023-2024.

In Gisborne, there were 21 ship visit days and 7970 visitor days.

The indicative cruise ship schedule for 2024-2025 shows 20 cruise ship visits to Gisborne are scheduled between November 10 and March 10.

The first, National Geographic Orion, was in port last weekend.

The 53-cabin vessel sails to “little-known waters” in New Zealand, Australia, French Polynesia, the Pacific Islands, Asia and the Mediterranean.

Across the country in the last financial year, $1.37 billion in total economic output was generated by cruise tourism.

That included direct expenditure by passengers, crew and cruise lines worth $637.8 million, as well as indirect/induced expenditure of $729.2m.

Cruise tourism supported a total employment of 9729 New Zealand jobs in that time and provided $425.9m in wages to local workers.

NZCA chief executive officer Jacqui Lloyd said a cruise passenger spent an average of $283 every day on shore in New Zealand.

But that was only one piece of the picture,” Lloyd said.

“We also benefit from the spending of crew members and the spending of cruise lines to support their operations and provision their ships.”

“Cruise tourism supports a huge variety of local Kiwi businesses like tour operators, travel agents, hotels and restaurants, retailers, transport providers and port operators,” Lloyd said.

“Cruising is also supported by an extensive supply chain, creating benefits for New Zealand farmers and food producers, winemakers, providores and maritime service providers.”

Despite the figures, the cruise industry has warned that rising costs and regulatory complexities are hampering the industry in New Zealand, leading to a fall in local cruise ship deployment.

“While cruise tourism is thriving in the rest of the world, New Zealand is going backwards, and local communities are facing a 20% reduction in visitor numbers over the coming season.

“New Zealand has become one of the world’s most expensive destinations for cruise operations, and this is already costing Kiwi businesses millions of dollars as ships head elsewhere.”