Auckland wins prestigious international cruise award

Media release

27 March 2013

Auckland wins prestigious international cruise award

Auckland has been named Best Turnaround Destination by the world’s leading cruise line executives, capping off a record cruise season.

The award from Britain’s Cruise Insight magazine is based on a survey of industry leaders and ranks Auckland as the ultimate destination to start or end a cruise.

The accolade was announced at the annual Cruise Shipping Miami tradeshow, the industry’s premier global event, which is attended by 1800 cruise line owners and operators from 66 companies.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown says this award reinforces Auckland’s growing international status as a renowned cruise destination.

“It is outstanding for Auckland to be recognised by the industry’s top decision makers as the number one place to start or end a cruise,” he says.

“This recognition puts us in good stead to grow our number of turnaround cruises and consequently have passengers stay here for longer and help generate more value for Auckland’s visitor economy,” says the Mayor.

Auckland is credited for having the best combination of hotel stock, tourism appeal, airlift and airport capacity, transport links, ground handling and seamless transfers to the seaport.

ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development) Manager Tourism Jason Hill says our attractive destination helps Auckland to stand out.

“We offer cruise passengers a mix of quality hotels, restaurants, shopping and attractions – and the development of a cruise facility on Queens Wharf will further enhance our welcome experience for visitors,” he says.

The award comes as Auckland is enjoying a record cruise season with 100 cruise ships visiting from 1 October 2012 to 24 June 2013.

During the 2012/13 season Auckland will welcome 178,000 passengers and 78,000 crew, resulting in an injection of $114.9 million GDP into the region’s economy.

Auckland’s flourishing cruise sector will help to support ATEED’s work to grow the overall visitor economy in line with the targets in its 10 year Auckland Visitor Plan.

ATEED – on behalf of Auckland Council – aims to double the contribution from the visitor economy over the next 10 years, growing it from $3.33 billion in 2010 to $6 billion in 2021.

Ends

Notes to editors:
ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development) is Auckland’s economic growth agency.

The figures quoted for the 2012/13 season are from Ports of Auckland and Cruise New Zealand’s Economic Impact Assessment (October 2012). The Economic Impact Assessment of NZ Cruise Sector was prepared by Market Economics Limited.

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