Boost to Northland Tourism With $10 Mil Small Ship

21 May, 2007

InterCity to Boost Northland Tourism With $10 Million Small Ship

InterCity Group Limited plans to boost tourism in Northland with a $10 million, fuel-efficient small ship that will offer overnight cruises around the pristine waters of the Bay of Islands.

The 100 percent Kiwi-owned and operated company announced today that plans are underway to build the first small ship to operate in New Zealand.

The 46-metre150 foot) (long catamaran, which is being designed to cruise at 12 knots with maximum stability, will take 18 months to complete. Building is due to begin early next year and to be completed by winter 2009, ready for summer sailings in and out of Opua.

Kings Dolphin Cruises & Eco Tours, which is part of InterCity Group, will operate the small ship which will depart from Opua in the Bay of Islands at 1.30pm every day in summer and return the following day at 11.30am.

Robyn Bolton, the manager for Destination Northland, said the Kings small ship cruises were an exciting new concept which would help boost tourism in Northland.

“Visitors to Northland are interested in whatever they can do in, on or under the water. Kings small ship cruises will be a great new way for them to experience the iconic Bay of Islands,” said Bolton.

“Having the option of taking an overnight cruise also means visitors are more likely to stay in Northland longer. Before or after they take a cruise, they can spend an extra night or two on shore and make the most of all other Northland tourist attractions on offer.”

Sydney-based company Incat Crowther, which is a world leader in small ship design, has been contracted to design the Kings vessel. A state-of-the-art diesel-electric system for propulsion and power generation, which could reduce carbon emissions by up to 60 percent, is part of the design brief.

Two of the ship’s four decks will house 30 queen state rooms, all with ensuites and sea views. Four of the cabins will be able to be converted to sleep four people. The two other decks will include a sundeck and a 70-seat restaurant with indoor/outdoor dining and a bar which will be able to be converted into a conference space.

A range of small boats will ferry passengers around the sheltered waters of the Bay of Islands for activities including beach walks, snorkelling, swimming and kayaking.

Rates for the overnight cruses will start from $349 per person for a twin cabin and will include a cruise of the Bay of Islands, on-board activities, afternoon tea, dinner and breakfast. Bar charges are separate.

The small ship will also be available to sail to different parts of New Zealand and be used as a self-contained marine conference facility for up to 70 people.

InterCity Group CEO Malcolm Johns said the small ship cruises will offer passengers a unique experience of one of New Zealand’s most outstanding marine environments.

“We hope that this will be just one of many more tourist activities that we can offer in Northland over the coming years,” said Johns.

InterCity Group provides New Zealand’s largest scheduled national tourism and transport infrastructure and includes InterCity and Newmans Coach Lines, a wide range of backpacker transport products as well as Kings Dolphin Cruises & Eco Tours. InterCity and Newmans coaches operates up to 600 seats a day between Auckland and the Bay of Islands in summer and will provide transport to and from Auckland for the cruises.

Johns says the small ship cruises will suit both independent and group travellers from New Zealand and from countries including Australia, North America, the United Kingdom and Europe.

InterCity Group Limited transports about 1.5 million passengers nationwide each year, including 500,000 international visitors to New Zealand, and operates more than 140 daily services a day to more than 600 towns, cities and communities across New Zealand.

During the past three years InterCity Group Limited has invested about $20 million as part of the continual upgrading of its national tourism and transport infrastructure.

ENDS

www.intercity.co.nz

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