Plans for smooth sailing cruise season

More than 90 cruise ships will weigh anchor in Akaroa Harbour this season but plans are in place to lessen the impact on local residents and the town’s infrastructure.

The first cruise ship, the Majestic Princess, arrives today and the last for the season, the Golden Princess, sails into the harbour on 13 April next year.

Akaroa will host two ships in one day on 10 occasions during the season and three ships will visit the town on 11 February.

The cruise ship season is under way for Akaroa.

On the busiest day, up to 5500 passengers may arrive in the Banks Peninsula harbour.

Christchurch City Council Head of Facilities, Property and Planning Bruce Rendall says the Council manages each cruise ship visit to help tourists enjoy their time on shore but also ease any pressure on the local area.

“We know that the area around the Akaroa Wharf gets very busy on cruise ship days,” Mr Rendall says.

“We work to manage this often congested area to ensure safety, while also helping visitors to make the most of local tours and activities.”

Each ship visit requires a targeted Traffic Management Plan, including parking restrictions.

“We also oversee the licensing of operators while keeping activity and tour sales separate from departure points so that we don’t have people milling around in the main pedestrian traffic areas,” Mr Rendall says.

He says that there are limits on the space that individual tour operators can occupy, ensuring opportunities for other providers.

“Equally importantly, the Council works with the cruise ship companies so that we can minimise the cost to ratepayers,” Mr Rendall says.

While Akaroa benefits from the tourism expenditure, the burgeoning cruise ship market highlights the importance of targeted planning.

Banks Peninsula Community Board Chairperson Pam Richardson says the Board remains focused on better meeting local needs on the town’s busy days

“Akaroa has been ranked among the top three cruise ship destinations for New Zealand and Australia, so it is easy to see why the town is so popular,” Mrs Richardson says.

“On each cruise ship day, Council staff introduce a Traffic Management Plan to handle the buses travelling through the town and the thousands of passengers coming off the wharf,” she says.

“We have also recently secured national tourism-related funding towards new toilet facilities to ease the impact on local amenities in the future.”

New figures show that, overall, New Zealand’s cruise sector has climbed in value by 18 per cent to $434 million in the year to June.

Meanwhile, work is under way on New Zealand’s first custom-built cruise ship berth in Lyttelton.

The massive project is due to be completed by the 2020-2021 summer cruise season.

The berth on the eastern side of the inner harbour entrance is expected to attract the world’s largest cruise ships to the Christchurch port.