However, concern has been raised for the long-term health of the South Island's cruise ship industry if Lyttelton Port of Christchurch (LPC) does not go ahead with cruise ship berth development in case it leads to a decrease in overall South Island visits.
LPC announced on Friday it was deferring its decision on starting development of purpose-built cruise berth facilities after a pre-February earthquake estimate of $13.7 million rocketed 40% higher to about $20 million, LPC chief executive Peter Davie said.
"The devastating earthquake on February 22, 2011, and the subsequent major aftershocks prompted a comprehensive review of all pending development and enhancement plans around the port, given the overall damage suffered - which is in the hundreds of millions of dollars," Mr Davie said.
Port Chalmers' cruise ship visits this season were up about 25%, with 84 vessels, carrying more than 150,000 passengers, scheduled to call.
Port Otago's commercial manager, Peter Brown, said the deferral was unlikely to lead to any boost in ship numbers calling at Port Chalmers, as the vessels which were scheduled to visit next season would use a combination of Akaroa and Lyttelton for their "Christchurch" call, as they had done this time.
"Port Chalmers gets nearly all the ships that call on the New Zealand coast anyway," Mr Brown said.
The concern is that the longer-term impact of a lack ofadequate cruise ship facilities at LPC could lead to a decline in visits to the South Island if the shipping lines cannot access tourism in Christchurch.
"It is important to the cruise ship industry in the rest of the South Island to have Christchurch as a viable call," he said.
Mr Davie said the decision to defer the start of the development had been difficult but was right for both the port and the cruise industry in New Zealand.
"When we do this cruise berth development, we need to do it right.
"If we don't get this right and fail to provide an experience of international standard then we not only put at risk the reputation of Lyttelton but also that of New Zealand as a cruise destination," Mr Davie said.
