The New Zealand Cruise Association has re-elected Tansy Tompkins, chief executive of Wellington Cable Car, as chair at its annual general meeting held ahead of the 13 August conference in Auckland, with Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Oscar Nathan named deputy chair. In her chair's report Tompkins said the "hard truth" is that New Zealand is still fighting to win back cruise deployment, with the 2027-28 outlook difficult and only slight improvement likely in 2028-29. She argued the sector is nonetheless in a stronger position than a year ago, pointing to deeper government engagement through the Cross-Government Cruise Forum and the inclusion of cruise in the country's first national Tourism Policy Statement.
The New Zealand Cruise Association re-elected Tansy Tompkins as chair at its annual general meeting, held before the association's annual conference at Shed 10 on Auckland's Queens Wharf on 13 August. Tompkins, chief executive of Wellington Cable Car, has held the role since 2023. Oscar Nathan, general manager of Tourism Bay of Plenty, was named deputy chair, replacing Debbie Summers, who left the board in February after 15 years.
In her report to the conference, Tompkins said the "hard truth" is that New Zealand remains in a fight to win back cruise deployment in an intensely competitive global market. She said cruise visitation is still well below where it needs to be, describing the 2027-28 outlook as difficult and 2028-29 as likely to bring only slight improvement.
Despite this, she argued the sector is unquestionably stronger than a year ago and that the foundations for recovery are being rebuilt. Tompkins pointed to a shift from government awareness to genuine engagement, citing the Cross-Government Cruise Forum, a Joint Ministerial Statement of support that followed a July 2025 round table at Parliament, and the inclusion of cruise in New Zealand's first national Tourism Policy Statement.
Source: Seatrade Cruise News (Helen Hutcheon), 12 August 2026. Summary written by Cruisey; see the source link for the full article.