The Aratere will retire in August. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Tourism businesses are concerned at what may lie ahead as the Interislander service loses a ferry in August.
Aratere's looming retirement would reduce the Cook Strait fleet from three vessels to two until replacements were scheduled to arrive in 2029.
Hospitality and tourism operators said it created uncertainty for the sector, despite regular updates from KiwiRail.
The state-owned rail and ferry company said it was confident the remaining ferries could handle the demand and a thorough maintenance schedule was in place.
Garden View Cottages co-owner Rhonda George said the ferries were a vital way of getting visitors into Picton and the wider region.
"It's a real worry because the ferries are getting so old and they're unreliable as it is, so just having two, if another one breaks down then you are down to one ferry," she said.
The Interislander ferries faced a series of engineering problems in 2023, with one losing power and cancellations leaving passengers stranded.
The Interislander ferry Aratere, aground near Picton in June last year. Photo: Supplied: Phelps Visuals
Tourists took note, George said.
"When people from overseas look at where they're going to go and they're looking at booking, if they Google Interislander, it automatically comes up with the grounding, it breaking down."
Destination Marlborough general manager Tracey Green said KiwiRail had provided updates from day one, but it had not eased the concerns of some businesses.
"The entire concept of losing the Aratere just places a lot more uncertainty on what is happening with the services across the strait, especially when we reflect back on the summer of 2023 when we had considerable disruptions."
They were lucky to have another ferry company also operating, but Green said she was worried travel agents and sellers could be influenced by the perception the ferries were not reliable.
"Habits stay and it's very hard to shift habits back once they've changed.
"So if they choose to not use the ferry then it could take us many years to reestablish those habits that Marlborough and Wellington are great places to travel to and the ferry is a perfect option."
THL chief operating officer Matt Harvey said the retirement could affect THL's rental vehicle customers.
But the company had plans in place, he said.
"We're communicating with guests and getting people to book in advance and really make them aware that there could be limited capacity, looking at those relationships and seeing what the capacity is with Bluebridge as well.
"It's just looking at all options really and just eyes wide open, see how it plays out.
"My concern with these reduced sailings is if you then had mechanical breakdowns on top of that ... then you're even further hamstrung."
After Aratere retired there would be four fewer sailings per day.
KiwiRail spokesperson Adele Wilson said the passenger volume would only drop by about three percent overall.
The ferries sailed - on average - at between 65 to 70 percent capacity, which would increase, she said.
There were also options to boost passenger capacity including limiting the number of dangerous goods sailings which impacted how many people could be onboard, she said.
"We strongly believe that we can handle the demand from the market, but it will be tighter and people are going to have to travel at different times," Wilson said.
"There is not going to be as much space on a day-by-day basis."
Anyone meant to sail on Aratere had been rebooked or refunded.
KiwiRail had been in close contact with the tourism industry to help them plan for the retirement, she said.
KiwiRail was expecting only minor effects as international visitors had the time to choose when they travelled and New Zealanders tended to stick to public and school holidays, Wilson said.
However, the perception of unreliability was a problem, she said.
Wilson accepted KiwiRail did not have the right plans and maintenance in place in 2023, but said they had learnt lessons.
"Perception's a hard thing to turn. What we need to do is to keep talking about the facts and the facts are that the Interislander ferries reliability for this year is sitting at 98 percent."
Atlantis Hostel acting general manager Damien Cavendish said he was optimistic about the upcoming retirement.
"We think it might be quite positive because ... more people might have to spend an extra day or an extra night in Picton so we're expecting it to be quite a good thing for us," he said.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Rebecca Ingram said KiwiRail had been sending out updates about how the work could impact travellers, which helped business to plan ahead.
"We know that key to any change is being open and transparent. Interislander have communicated very clearly about what is changing and what they are doing, which has been incredibly helpful for the industry to be able to plan for."
"They also had a strong presence at TRENZ in May, and were available to talk with operators and travel buyers about what's happening, to answer questions and help them plan for the transition."
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