New government figures out today show cruise ship expenditure for the year to June 2018 jumped by 18.3% to $434 million on the previous year, reinforcing the sector’s value to New Zealand, says the New Zealand Cruise Association.
“Importantly, communities throughout New Zealand are benefitting from that expenditure, with Auckland and Tauranga ports recording the largest total spend,” says Association Chief Executive Kevin O’Sullivan.
Australia continues to make up the biggest source of cruise visitors (114,012), however other countries are growing at a faster rate. This includes the USA, up 31% to 51,838 passengers, and Japan, which grew 150%, albeit off relatively small numbers.
Mr O’Sullivan says the Stats NZ cruise ship traveller and expenditure statistics are a valuable source of insight and will inform the Association’s official cruise sector economic report, which will be released later this year.
“Our report will show the full value of the cruise sector to the New Zealand economy, and will include expenditure and number forecasts for the 2018-19 season. This will help with planning to ensure the sustainable growth of our sector.”
Mr O’Sullivan says the Stats NZ figures are timely and will be discussed at next week’s annual New Zealand Cruise Association Conference in Blenheim (23-24 August 2018).
The conference will be attended by around two hundred delegates from the cruise sector and wider tourism industry, local government and port representatives, as well as international cruise ship executives.
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