Chief executive Geoff Plunket said yesterday the industry preferred regular stops, and the two ``gaps'' in the network - Auckland and Lyttelton - needed to be filled.
``In the long run, it's positive for the cruise industry.''
The industry has increased markedly in the past few years. Port Otago has more than 90 ships booked for next season.
The Christchurch City Council yesterday announced a cruise ship berth designed to accommodate the largest ships, the first time the port was able to service the industry since the 2011 earthquake.
Akaroa has been taking some ships, but passengers must use tenders, or small boats, to be ferried to shore.
``This is a huge project for the city and we are happy to be able to bring cruise ships back to Lyttelton in time for the 2019-20 cruise season,'' Lyttelton Port Company board chairman Trevor Burt said.
Tourism Minister Paula Bennett also hailed the news.
Without a long-term solution, there was a risk larger vessels would choose to bypass Lyttelton and Akaroa, affecting the wider Canterbury region, she said.
Mrs Bennett noted the Auckland Council had supported in principle plans to extend Queens Wharf to allow larger cruise ships such as Ovation of the Seas to berth, rather than anchor in the harbour.
Mr Plunket said the cruise industry needed ``a network of ports''.
The two gaps in New Zealand's network were Auckland's inability to handle bigger ships, and Lyttelton's inability to handle anything but very small boutique vessels.
He said in the long term the new facilities would strengthen the cruise business across the South.
``If you study their itinerary, it's about cruising at night and being in a different city, or a different port, each day.''
That could mean a trip with stops at Wellington, Picton, Lyttelton, Dunedin and Fiordland, the last of those ``a very big drawcard''.
Dunedin was the perfect distance from Fiordland, whether coming or going.
Mr Plunket said cruise lines also liked selling tours where passengers had things to do.
From Akaroa, where ships had been stopping, it was a long way by road to Christchurch, meaning limited possibilities.
The cruise lines would prefer to go to Lyttelton, ``put people on a bus and you're in Christchurch in half an hour and there are a lot more options for passengers''.
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$56 million. For mass tourism which is is ruining places like Venice. These day trippers have little care for the people or places they visit - just something to tick off the list before they hop back and sail away on board HMS Disneyland.
$56 million of our taxes and rates should go towards hospitals schools, not some facility which only makes tourist companies rich.