After reports of unruly behaviour from a small minority of tourism operators competing with one another, Port Otago said it had little option but to put a blanket ban on all operators, barring them from operating from the wharf.
Port Otago chief executive Geoff Plunket said it was a case of a few, about five or six, reflecting badly on the whole of Dunedin.
Port Otago had received complaints directly from passengers, cruise lines and other tour operators, as well as an expression of concern from Cruise New Zealand.
However, some operators, who received the news only yesterday, felt uneasy about the move and believed the new format could mean lost business.
Bookings will now be placed in the hands of the Dunedin City Council's i-site, which will take a 12.5% commission before passing bookings on to the 40-plus operators who work at peak season.
One tourist operator, who asked not to be named, said she was not notified by Port Otago about a ''secret meeting for a select few'' last month to discuss possible remedies to the ''unprofessional behaviour'' at the wharf.
She had previously written to the council describing the ''foul play'' of a ''trio'' of operators, but had not received a reply.
No-one from the council was available to comment on the matter yesterday.
Actions by the trio included verbal abuse, pushing and shoving and car blocking, which prevented one tourist operator from taking tours.
The woman said the issues spiralled out of control late last year as competition increased.
Operators began to work on a ''first-in first-served basis'', which led to one man sleeping in his tour bus overnight and washing in the port basins in the morning before taking customers on paid tours, she said.
''They were behaving like schoolchildren. Not showering and not brushing your teeth is not a good look for a tourist operator.''
No other ports in New Zealand allowed private tour operators on wharves. The woman was concerned even with the new i-site booking system introduced, the ''trouble makers'' were still able to operate.
She hoped the new system would not mean the loss of the private commission customers she had worked hard to get.
''I don't think it's going to be a level playing field at all.''
Dunedin i-site manager Louise van de Vlierd said while a small minority had caused the problem at the wharf, she welcomed Port Otago's new rulings.
She said no operator would be disadvantaged.
Exploring New Zealand Ltd director Andrew Rutherford also had concerns smaller operators were likely to lose work and that pushing operators off the wharf would only shift the problem.
He admitted he had slept in his tour bus on the wharf to claim prime position for customers from the cruise ships, but said he was not the only one.
Good Company's owner/operator Richard Trainer agreed something had to be done.
Some operators had turned up at peak season ''trying to make a quick buck'' by poaching business from those who worked out of the port year-round.
''I'm not sure what the answer is, but I am concerned it will affect my business.''
Mr Trainer had already been dealing with i-site for his customers, but said it would be harder to represent his business if he could not physically be on the wharf.
''What does concern me is, is it going to just shift the problem further into town?''Monarch Cruises director John Milburn was pleased some action had been taken.
Mr Milburn, who has been operating out of Port Chalmers for 15 years, said he had never seen things as bad as last season.
