Coronavirus cruise ship ban: Hawke's Bay tourism industry under threat

The Hawke's Bay tourism trade is in danger of taking a hit amid the coronavirus cruise ship ban. Photo / Warren Buckland

Hawke's Bay tourism leaders hope domestic tourists will help cover expected gaps left by overseas visitors after cruise ship visits were cancelled and extra border controls were introduced.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Saturday that all cruise ships will be banned from entering New Zealand until the end of June.

This formed part of a coronavirus update, which also stated that any person, excluding Pacific islanders, will be required to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival to the country.

Hawke's Bay Tourism chief executive Hamish Saxton raised concerns over the ban, describing the tourism trade as "people business".

"This will be tough on our visitor economy, as it is for visitor economies elsewhere in the world," he said.

"We are a resilient industry, and we will recover - but it may take time and it will take additional investment that many of our businesses may not be able to afford."

Saxton added: "The decision to self-isolate will have a big effect. There'll be numerous hotels, B&Bs, lodges, motels and other lodgings with forward bookings from international guests that will now be cancelled. This will have an impact on budgets, cash flow, income, staffing levels."

Decker City Discover owner Mark Scofield said he will be hoping local bookings can balance the books. Photo / Paul Taylor

Mark Scofield, owner of Napier bus tour company Decker City Discover, said he will be hoping local bookings can balance the books.

"We have bookings through Trip Advisor and so on and they're starting to email and cancel their tours because their ships are no longer coming," he said.

"We've got quite a few booking from local groups which is encouraging, which we will need.

"We've only got about eight ships left to come into the port, but now there will be none."

Scofield added: "We are just lucky this has caught us at the end of the season. I just hope these measures do keep the virus out of here and things return to normal for the next summer season."

Every year, Napier Port sees the arrival and departure of more than 680 ships and over 5.1 million tonnes of cargo.

Napier Port Marine and General Cargo general manager Adam Harvey said the port has been working with the Hawke's Bay District Health Board since January to take additional precautions on checking the health of passengers and crew.

Harvey said they had handled 55 cruise ships during that time - including three cancellations due to weather - with no issues.

"Two cruise ships, Ruby Princess and Le Laperouse, are still arriving today as they are already in New Zealand waters. These have complied with the additional health procedures," he said.

"We were nearing the end of our normal busy season anyway, with just eight ships, including the two in port today, due to visit sporadically until May.

"We are currently awaiting advice from cruise lines with vessels in New Zealand waters for the season on what impact they will face due to the restrictions."

The virus, which is believed to have emerged from illegally traded wildlife at a seafood market in Wuhan, China, has so far claimed the lives of 5835 people around the world, with nearly 156,533 confirmed cases.

Disney announced the temporarily closure of its theme park in California on Friday in response to the coronavirus pandemic, while shows, concerts and sporting events have been called off around the world.

Napier City Council event manager Kevin Murphy said he is grateful it is the end of the summer months. Photo / Paul Taylor

Napier City Council event manager Kevin Murphy said there are likely to be a few challenges amid the crisis.

"Luckily we are at the end of the summer," he said, "But who knows what effect this may have on crowd numbers at the Magpies and the Hawks now that the 14-day quarantine is in place.

"It will be interested to see how big events planned for next weekend like Homegrown and Polyfest are affected."

National Tukituki MP Lawrence Yule cancelled a public health meeting on coronavirus as a precautionary measure on Friday.

The meeting, which was intended to be held at Toitoi Hawke's Bay Arts & Events Centre on Monday, was called off following government advice on public gatherings.