Confirmation that the quake-damaged port of Lyttelton was accepting cruise bookings for this season has been welcomed further south.
Seventy-eight cruise ships are scheduled to visit Port Otago this season, beginning with Sea Princess on October 13, and ending with the same vessel on April 19.
Tourism Dunedin chief executive Hamish Saxton said tourism operators welcomed the news Lyttelton was taking bookings.
The announcement removed any uncertainty for other South Island ports, and provided an easier cruise port to embark and disembark from than possible options such as Akaroa, he said.