A last-minute cruise-ship cancellation yesterday left tourism operators out of pocket but thankful the weather has not made more of a dent in business this season.
Diamond Princess was turned away close to Taiaroa Head early yesterday by strong winds.
That meant more than 700 people booked on Dunedin Railways trips did not arrive, and extra staff who were ready for passengers at cafes, bars and other tourism operations were no longer required.
Dunedin i-Site visitor centre manager Louise van de Vlierd said news of the cancellation did not come through until 7.40am, as she was heading to Port Chalmers to open the centre's marquee.
Last season, 76 cruise ships visited Dunedin with four cancellations, including the Diamond Princess, from bad weather, while in 2013-14 seven of 85 expected ship visits were cancelled.
This season 75 visits were expected. Three had been cancelled so far and only five were still to come.
"We've been lucky,'' Ms van de Vlierd said of the weather this year.
The Diamond Princess had been "right out there, ready to come in''.
"As I was driving to Port Chalmers, it was very, very windy. I wasn't surprised.''
The weather was one thing out of anyone's control, she said.
"To date it hasn't been too bad, with only three [cancelled]. It's always very disappointing.''
Dunedin Railways chief executive Murray Bond said 340 people were booked on a shore excursion from Port Chalmers, 185 on a public train from Dunedin and about 200 on short trips to Waitati.
"That's what we lost today. That's significant and disappointing, but I suppose you could say it's only the third cancellation of the season, which is probably slightly less than average.''
Mr Bond said the season had been "not the biggest'' in terms of numbers from cruise ships, and the railway had hoped cancellations would be minimised.
Numbers for shore excursions had been well down this season, Mr Bond said, as were sales for other tourism operators across New Zealand from cruise ships.
While the New Zealand dollar had fallen, the excursions were sold in US dollars, which were at "historic levels''.
"That's really, really hurt business for anybody relying on shore excursions booked off the ships. It's a slightly disappointing season, not bad, and of course we're never happy about cancellations.''
