NZ cruise passengers set to double.
TV NZ says that New Zealand cruise passenger numbers look set to almost double in the coming year to over 100,000, pumping millions of new spending into the economy.
Figures released last week by Cruise New Zealand, an interest group for those involved in the New Zealand cruise industry, showed that direct spending hit a record $249 million last season, and forward passenger bookings for the coming year look strong.
Pre-booking for the 2007/2008 season are already 72% higher on last year, with 111,300 people booked on New Zealand cruises compared with 64,800 people last year.
Craig Harris, chairman of Cruise New Zealand and chief executive of McKays Shipping in Auckland, said the introduction of winter cruises had been instrumental in helping extend the season from September to April.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton says cruising is increasingly important to the country’s tourism industry.
He says it brings more people in the quieter seasons and takes them to a wider spread of places.
Hickton also says with more cruise passengers arriving it provides a great opportunity for tourism operators to develop more products tailored for those visitors while on shore.
Cruise passengers are typically high spending visitors.
According to an independent economic impact report by Market Economics, the economic impact of each cruise passenger is $3,964. The average spend for visitors to New Zealand is $2,829.
Cruising also means more employment, with 2,130 full time jobs created last year.
Cruises are most popular with overseas visitors from North America, which makes up 40% of the cruise market, followed by Australia (16%) and the United Kingdom (15%).
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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