Crunching cruise facilities mean the industry misses New Zealand's target

New Zealanders take cruises in record numbers but the rate of growth has dropped, with an industry group blaming infrastructure constraints for not meeting targets.

Last year 98,000 Kiwis made an ocean cruise, up 8.7% 12 months, but below the target of 100,000 set for the year by a group cruises.

"The slowdown in growth in the region due to infrastructure capacity constraints has meant that this goal has only been missed by 2,000 passengers. The International Cruise Line Association said:

Cruise growth rate is well below the average increase of 14.7 percent.

The association says that there is a risk that ships are shipwrecked in particular, but also other ports are not improved.

In Auckland, the larger vessels must dock at the harbor rather than docking because of the delays that extend Prince's wharf with an anchorage structure for dolphins.

The association's managing director, Joel Katz, said the area was in danger of losing business in Asia, where the facilities were good for a large number of ships.

A report published today traces the evolution of New Zealanders around the world. The South Pacific remains the preferred place for cruising, followed by New Zealand and then Australia.

Katz said that New Zealand continues to outperform many more more established cruise markets, in percent ahead of the United States, Europe and Britain. Ireland.

& # 39; & # 39; With 109 new cruise ships to be delivered between 2018 and 2027, New Zealand is well positioned to take advantage of increased local deployments, as long as infrastructure constraints can be addressed and the tax burden of cruisers and "[19659011] "Many local cruises were organized in New Zealand's regional coastal ports," he said.

The association was closely following the forecasts According to him, it was necessary to balance the financing needs of tourist facilities while ensuring that potential visitors are not dissuaded.

Figures released today show the equivalent of 2 .2% of the New Zealand population made a cruise last year

. Luxury cruises and expedition cruises are also becoming more popular. The figures do not include those who take river cruises, which are gaining popularity among Kiwis around the waterways of Europe, Asia and the United States.

The most popular duration is eight to 14 days with 44% of passengers, although the shortest trips of less than four days recorded the largest increase of 150%

The age of passenger remained constant in 2016, with about 40% of cruisers under 50 and about 60% over 50.

The annual source market report is based on data received from CLIA cruise line members, who represent more than 95% of the cruise passengers worldwide.