Backing a shore thing

ODT graphic.

Dunedin city councillor Paul Hudson is one who believes Dunedin is being overtaken by other "ports of call" vying for a bigger slice of the trade. Mark Price backgrounds some of the issues.

Cruise-ship passengers are a big chunk of Steve McNulty's bread and butter.

One summer morning 16 years ago he took the three classic Jaguar cars he used for his part-time wedding service down to the wharves at Port Chalmers and lined them up alongside a cruise ship.

He was noticed and he got a contract.

And now, in a convoy of up to 10 classic Jaguars, he can ferry 36 cruise-ship passengers around the sights - 28% of his annual income generated from 50 or 60 days a year of cruise-ship work.

"Our record turnover days are generally a cruise-ship day. We had one last year, so they are pretty important to our business."

Not surprisingly, Mr McNulty believes the city needs to treasure its cruise-ship visits.

"I know from the people we carry the kind of spend that goes on in the city on a cruise day. It's huge.

"The city needs to get behind the cruise industry and make sure that the Dunedin experience is always a good experience."

In February last year, University of Otago researcher Nikki Lloyd was sent on a Tourism Dunedin-funded cruise around New Zealand aboard the Dawn Princess.

She and two other researchers on two other cruises brought back impressions of New Zealand and Dunedin from the passengers' points of view. Their research is now being used in a cruise-ship strategy being drawn up for Dunedin.

A final draft is expected to be in front of the main industry players within weeks.

Ms Lloyd interviewed 150 passengers and found a new breed of cruise-ship passenger with a broader range of characteristics than once might have been the case.

Many were retired but plenty were younger.

Some were American (3%) but mostly they were Australian (84%).