Some smaller Dunedin tour and shuttle operators say a new booking system for cruise-ship passengers is putting them out of business.
Operators say several of the 40-plus operators who work at peak season have already stopped seeking cruise-ship business and others say they are on the verge of quitting, after making little or no money this year.
Ron Harvey, from Dunedin Limousine Services, said he had been making a comfortable income from cruise-ship visitors for 12 years. Last year, he did more than 80 trips from 88 cruise-ship visits.
This season, he had had only three jobs so far, and his income was down so much he was seriously considering closing.
Kevin Gallagher, from Gallagher Shuttles, said he had made $9000 from cruise passengers by this time last year. So far this season, since the new system was introduced, he had made $2500.
The new system prevents tour operators from going on the wharf to attract business, and requires all tour bookings to be pre-booked or made through an i-Site visitor tent.
It was introduced after Port Otago received complaints from passengers, cruise lines and other tour operators, and an expression of concern from Cruise New Zealand, about unruly behaviour from a few operators competing for business on the wharf.
Dunedin City Council visitor industry business development adviser Sophie Barker said passengers were able to book any of the many private tours, without favour, on the wharf, via the i-Site visitor tent, which passengers went through as they departed the ship.
A local bus service was available from Port Chalmers to Dunedin, as an option.
Shuttles were operated by the cruise ships, and trips mostly sold to passengers on board, outside of the DCC's control. Ships also promoted certain aspects of destinations, which could affect what passengers wanted to do.
Council staff had had three meetings with operators and given them advice on how to make passengers aware of them, even providing a checklist on how to better promote themselves, she said.
''We have tried to help them, but a lot of people are competing for a very little bit of business, for only about 60 days a year.''
Research showed only about 200 people of those coming ashore in Dunedin from each ship were not already committed to an activity.
''If [operators] don't get modern, and get on TripAdvisor or establish a website, then they are invisible until the last minute.''
There was no question of the wharf being reopened to operators, so affected businesses would have to put in extra effort.
At least three operators are travelling to Akaroa to catch Dunedin-bound passengers there and pre-book them on Dunedin tours.
Ann Hayward, of Iconic Tours, said things had changed, but she was relying more on her website for bookings and the company's presence on travel recommendation website TripAdvisor, a site many cruise passengers used, was also working well. She was full most cruises.
Sharon Byles, of Hop-it, however, was not. She said she was getting more bookings through her website, but it was not covering her losses of direct bookings on the wharf.
Last year, she got at least one job from each visit she was available for, but this season was ''a waste of time''. From 26 visits so far, she had four jobs, and was struggling to stay afloat.
She believed the problem was the operators' lack of visibility. Passengers could not see them and, when they got off the ships, could not find the options they were looking for, as i-Site staff were not selling tours like operators could themselves.
She also said i-Site staff seemed to be pointing passengers in the direction of only a few operators. Other operators expressed the same concerns.
''Passengers will ruin this industry for Dunedin, if they are kept unhappy. They [DCC] must put us back [on the wharf],'' Ms Byles said.
Cruise-ship passengers recently told the ODT they would have got a private mini van or private tour of Dunedin if a van had been waiting at the wharf.
Others said they stayed in Port Chalmers because the cruise ship-organised shuttles to Dunedin were too expensive.
Various people suggested the city council could do more to promote local tour and shuttle operators and to get cruise passengers into Dunedin.
Mr Harvey said he had been assured at a meeting with i-Site staff last week that staff were not promoting any operators over others, and they would work to improve their systems, but there was little more that could be done.
