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The New Zealand Cruise Association (NZCA) has revealed the country’s first-ever national strategy for the cruise industry, ‘Cruise Aotearoa New Zealand 2040’.
This ambitious blueprint aims to guide the sector toward a sustainable and prosperous future, diversifying its members under a shared vision.
In a media release, August 2, chair of NZCA, Tansy Tompkins, emphasised the importance of this strategy, especially in light of the industry’s resilience post-Covid and its current global growth.
“Despite a strong 2023/24 season, we anticipate a 15-20 percent reduction in the coming years due to increased operational costs, global competition, and geopolitical risks. This strategy is crucial for aligning stakeholders and addressing these emerging challenges to ensure sustainable growth.” she says.
Over the past year, the NZCA has collaborated extensively with industry players, regional authorities, ports, cruise lines, government agencies, and other key stakeholders to develop this comprehensive plan. The result is a strategy that promises to bring holistic value across the economy, environment, community, and visitor experience, with a special focus on benefits for Māori and iwi.
Jacqui Lloyd, ceo of NZCA, also expressed confidence in the strategy’s potential to foster collaboration within the cruise sector. In the release she says “By regularly reviewing and adjusting this strategy, we can navigate unexpected changes and ensure continuous improvement.”
‘Cruise Aotearoa New Zealand 2040’ is built on three key principles: driving value, partnering to empower, and continuous improvement. It outlines immediate priorities for the first horizon, including leveraging valuable data for informed decision-making, activating strategic communications to build support, establishing strong partnerships, engaging government members, and integrating national and regional operations.
Environmental sustainability is at the heart of the strategy. Jacqui highlighted that new technologies and evolving visitor expectations will be instrumental in transforming the industry. The plan aims for cruise lines to achieve net carbon zero by 2050 and for the broader tourism supply chain in New Zealand to reach this goal by 2040. Additionally, the NZCA has proposed including cruise emissions in New Zealand’s 2050 climate targets to drive innovation and adoption of greener infrastructure technologies.
“This commitment reflects our dedication to aligning the cruise industry with New Zealand’s climate goals.” “While cruise ships comprise less than 1 percent of the global maritime fleet, integrating their emissions into national targets will promote the development of greener technologies that New Zealand currently lacks.” she says.
