Cruise ship earnings could reach $150m in next 5 years

With the addition of Shed 10, Auckland is on track to significantly grow earnings from cruise ship visits in the next five years says Mayor Len Brown.

“Last season, we welcomed 100 cruise ships to Auckland, bringing $116 million into the region’s economy,” Len Brown said. “This has been our biggest season ever and $2million over forecast.”

“I’m confident we could grow that to as much as $150 million a year in the next five years, by creating the capacity for more and larger cruise ships, and by encouraging passengers and crew to spend more money off the boat that on.

“Each ship represents a $1 million for Auckland’s economy. That’s not just business for retailers in the CBD, it’s market gardens in Pukekohe, vineyards in Waiheke and truck firms in South Auckland.”

“Our challenge is to grow both the number of visitors , and the amount each visitor wants to spend in our economy. This demands investment in great facilities like Shed 10, but it also requires more work and great ideas, to get visitors off the boat and spending money and time in our region.”

Len Brown said the opening of Shed 10 was a big step forward for Auckland’s tourism industry. “Shed 10 is a signal to the industry that we want more visitors to our region, and we’re prepared to invest to bring them here.”

“We have a major programme of work underway to boost the income we can generate from cruise ship visitors. This includes improving linkages between the CBD and waterfront, improvements to our harbour edge, attracting high value retailers to the city and encouraging ships to stock up with our goods.

During the 2012/13 season, Auckland welcomed 100 cruise ships with 178,000 passengers and 78,000 crew, resulting in an injection of $114.9 million GDP into the region’s economy. Shed 10 will operate as Auckland’s primary cruise terminal from the start of the 2013/14 cruise season on 11 October with the arrival of Carnival Cruise’s Sea Princess.
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