‘Word travels’: Cook Strait ferry service’s reputation for unreliability among overseas tour operators

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fed-up tour operators are sounding the alarm on Cook Strait ferry services, claiming tens of thousands can be lost from a single disrupted sailing and that perceived unreliability means tourists are skipping the Wellington region and the Top of the South.

At the world’s leading travel trade show – where exhibitors from more than 180 countries spruiked everything from luxury tour packages to adventure travel to medical and health tourism – the Middle East crisis was a hot topic of coversation this year.

But it was not the only one dominating the discourse at ITB Berlin.

According to a New Zealand-based tour operator, chatter about Cook Strait ferries was unavoidable last month and disruptions were causing “significant and lasting” damage to the country’s reputation as a world-class travel destination.

The issue, Jens Schlotzhauer said, demanded attention at the “highest political level”.

The Tourism Minister, however, said nothing had been raised with her directly, while the Rail Minister directed RNZ to the ferry operator.

Schlotzhauer’s concerns came in the wake of disruption caused by a technical fault on Bluebridge’s Connemara, which had been out of action since 21 March but resumed sailing on 1 April following a period of detainment and an inspection by water safety regulator Maritime NZ.

The Interislander has also had delays and disruptions in recent months, with stormy weather and technical problems forcing ferries out of service.

Tour operators told RNZ this season’s disruptions were not isolated, with some providing disclaimers about the ferries’ reliability to travellers or choosing to exclude the Cook Strait from their tour itineraries, while others were considering making back-up bookings for sailings next season.

KiwiRail, which runs the Interislander, and StraitNZ Bluebridge said they understood how frustrating disruptions could be and were “genuinely sorry” and “apologise unreservedly” for the inconvenience caused, but that from time to time problems arose in complex marine systems.

Cancellations hitting overseas companies in the pocket – tour operator

Nature Trailz Discover New Zealand specialised in active holidays for the German-speaking market, managing director Jens Schlotzhauer told RNZ.

The hiking, cycling, and kayaking trips were sold through German tour operators and, according to Schlotzhauer, the Cook Strait ferries were gaining a reputation among his European contacts, who aired their grievances at ITB Berlin.

“The Cook Strait ferry situation emerged as a notable talking point … raised by numerous European tourism companies who regularly send their clients to Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Our European contacts – many of whom book their clients through us – have asked us to speak on their behalf regarding this more local issue.”

Schlotzhauer said the ferries’ notoriety at the global trade show behemoth – which had been running for 60 years – was notable.

Last month’s trade show coincided with a particularly difficult time for services between Picton and Wellington, with more than half the days in March down either one Interislander or Bluebridge ferry due to a technical fault. On 12 and 13 March, two out of the four ferries that cross Cook Strait were out of action.

Schlotzhauer said while Nature Trailz was only affected by three cancellations (two due to technical faults) and three delays during the 2025/26 summer season, the downstream consequences of a disrupted sailing could be significant.

In one such example, Schlotzhauer said kayak and boat tours in the top of the South Island had to be scrapped entirely along with pre-booked accommodation when a cancellation saw a group arrive in Picton from Wellington three days behind schedule.

He estimated the cumulative financial hit to be $21,000 – including additional accommodation, revenue loss by the South Island tourism companies, and the 500 Euro refund per guest the German-based tour operator was required to cough up.

He said under European Union Travel Law, EU-based tour companies were liable for cancelled services.

“This is not an isolated event. Ferry cancellations due to technical defects represent a systemic risk with real and recurring financial consequences.”

New Zealand-based Nature Trailz staffer, Rita Baker – who was personally caught up in March’s cancelled sailings – said ensuring tour vans and drivers were rescheduled on the same service as their tour group could require significant effort.

“I’ve been on the phone to Interislander and Bluebridge for the last couple of months for hours on end trying to get our tour groups across.

“How many tour companies are there in the country that are in the same boat? In terms of tourism being New Zealand’s second-largest earner, I think it’s a very bad look.”

In March this year, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston celebrated Stats NZ data which showed toursim spending in 2025 was up $1.5 billion on the year prior and that tourism remained the country’s second highest export. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/tourism-drives-billions-new-zealand-economy

When contacted about the concerns raised by tour operators, Upston’s office told RNZ such issues had not been raised directly with the minister.

‘What the heck are we going to do now?’

One tour group operator – who asked not to be named for fear of hurting relationships with ferry operators – told RNZ disrupted services meant the company had planned tours that avoided Cook Strait altogether.

They said it was not the majority, but some clients who booked tours through them were choosing to fly groups between the islands thereby excluding Wellington and the Top of the South from itineraries.

“One of our clients … learned that the Cook Strait was a risk. They had one tour where people had to fly from Wellington to Christchurch.

“No big discussions but next thing you know Wellington and the ferries are off the itinerary for the next year.”

The operator said there would be a handful of disruptions in a typical six-month tourist season.

“When it happens it’s huge. Some days we get away with it because we haven’t got a tour affected, but we talk to our colleagues and they are affected. It would be six to 10 times a season that there’s a significant panic … first thing in the morning, ‘Right what the heck are we going to do now?’”

They said it was not just cancellations – delays also caused a logisitical nightmare in a tight schedule that had to account for 10-hour breaks for drivers and guides.

Avoiding the Cook Strait was something Real Kiwi Adventures owner and managing director, Peter Rickard-Green was increasingly noticing in the rentals business.

“We offer campervan rentals that are one-way from North to South Island or vice versa. But we’ve noticed that, that has been … incredibly difficult to arrange because of the instability of the ferry crossings.”

The company issued a disclaimer that it could not guarantee ferry prices or availability and Rickard-Green said some tourists were skipping one island completely.

In his opinion, government intervention was required, while the tour operator believed three Interislander ferries was the only solution.

“A strategy of having two ships instead of three is a strategy for failure. With this set up … there is no back up [for maintenance or disruption]. If just one ferry fails during peak periods it could take weeks to clear up the back log.”

‘Complex marine systems’

KiwiRail said it was “genuinely sorry for inconvenience experienced by tour operators and their customers” in early March when Kaiārahi was out of service for half a week due to a technical fault.

“During that disruption, we worked closely with all our customers including tour operators to move them to new sailings,” a spokesperson said.

They said eight additional sailings were added to the schedule and almost all tour groups and accompanying vehicles were “moved within 24 hours of disrupted sailing”.

KiwiRail said it had improved fleet resilience and, excluding weather, reliability had been above its target of 98 percent over the past 12 months thanks to its proactive maintenance regime – however, “intermittent faults can still occur in complex marine systems”.

Interislander general manager of operations, Taru Sawhney said the fleet would drop to one ship between 22 June and 26 September to allow for Kaitaki to head to Singapore for dry dock maintenance, following three weeks of local wet dock maintenance on Kaiārahi.

Sawhney said the maintenance had been timed with a period of low demand and that Interislander was working with customers to plan ahead for it.

He said the work was essential to keep the ships going during the transition to the new fleet in 2029.

StraitNZ Bluebridge spokesperson Will Dady said the company had been working “one-to-one” with groups to reschedule them as quickly as possible during Connemara’s technical fault.

“We are extremely aware how disruptive this is for our customers, many of whom are long term and very loyal, and we apologise unreservedly to all of them.”

He said from time-to-time things went wrong with “large and complex ships sailing multiple times a day between the Islands”.

Back-up bookings floated

Schlotzhauer said Nature Trailz was keen to speak with both ferry operators about practical solutions to cancellations and was considering booking a back-up sailing for each tour group next season.

“One possibility we would like to discuss is a dual-booking arrangement, whereby we secure two departure dates for each planned crossing, with the flexibility to cancel one at short notice without penalty.

“However, we firmly believe that the broader issue demands attention at the highest political level.”

He said the tourism industry depended on a reliable Cook Strait ferry service for both domestic tour operators and international companies “bound by the consumer protection laws of their home countries”.

“For the vast majority of visitors, a trip to New Zealand is not simply a holiday – it is a life experience.

“Guests save for it, dream about it, and return home eager to share it with family and friends. When things go wrong, particularly due to infrastructure failures that are beyond anyone’s control, that experience is diminished – and word travels.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand