30 Dec 2011

Akaroa welcomes cruise visitors

9:09 am on 30 December 2011

Akaroa village on Banks Peninsula is enjoying the benefits of thousands of extra tourists this summer.

Cruise ships have been calling at Akaroa since the end of October. By 20 April next year, there will have been 78 visits - seven times more than normal.

The majority usually moor at the port of Lyttelton - but that was damaged in the February earthquake.

After a slow winter, restaurateur Natasha Parkinson, says the cruise ships are just the boost the village needs.

Port Lyttelton says its cruise ship facilities should be operational again by next October.