Lyttelton Port of Christchurch (LPC) plans to levy cruise ship passengers $5 each because local government is reluctant to chip in for a $25 million cruise ship berth.

LPC has been exploring a suite of options to fund a multimillion-dollar cruise berth facility but so far has had no commitments from Christchurch City Council.

LPC is understood to be meeting today with Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism, cruise operator Carnival Australia, Christchurch City Council to discuss the urgent need for a dedicated berth for cruise ships.

LPC chief executive Peter Davie yesterday said the passenger tax was part of the port's wider plans for a $25m new cruise ship berth with a passenger building.

"We're saying [the levy] is in place unless we can find an alternative way of doing it," Davie said.

LPC management and the port's board had discussed a January 1 date for a $4.95 levy for disembarking, embarking and transferring passengers, he said.

"As far as we're concerned it's a service that's needed," Davie said.

"We've talked at length with a number of different parties in Christchurch. We don't seem to be able to get any other sources of funding – we've talked to council, we've talked to CDC (Canterbury Development Corporation), we've talked to politicians and at this stage we haven't got any funding for it."

The two obvious main sources of potential funding were local government – a net beneficiary of cruising – and central Government, which benefited through an increased tax take.

The proposed berth would be at the western end of Cashin Quay, near the older Lyttelton town-harbour frontage.

LPC was also consulting on the further development of public space around the inner harbour edge. Cafes and a marina have been proposed for the area.

Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism chief executive Christine Prince said a passenger levy would be a tough option in any environment on the tourism sector.

But it was also hard to push all the costs of a cruise ship berth and facility on a port that would be one of the lesser beneficiaries of the proposal.

"The reality is we that we need to have better facilities at Lyttelton. You've got to look at the broader perspective of how can this money is raised."

Lyttelton had to follow the lead of Auckland and its passenger terminal wharf, where several parties had funded the project.

"This is a tough one because of course the port will have only a very minimal benefit from cruise ships.

"It is actually the whole city and the surrounding region that would get the broader economic benefit from the cruise visitors," she said.

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Cruise New Zealand held the view that cruise ship facilities were usually funded by the local community, Davie said.

CDC chief executive Bill Luff, who is a director of LPC, said if the beneficiaries of the funding wanted the cruise berth to happen then probably several parties would contribute "a bit".

Cruise New Zealand chief executive Craig Harris was yesterday unavailable for comment.

Plans to tax cruise ship passengers visiting Christchurch would be of considerable concern to the tourism industry, Australasia's largest cruise ship operator, Carnival Australia & New Zealand said.

Carnival Corporate Affairs manager Sandy Olsen said a fee would be inappropriate and could damage an industry that provided significant benefits to the wider Canterbury economy.

Davie said about 80,000 cruise ship passengers visited Lyttelton in the most recent season. Given the $5 levy, about $400,000 could be raised a year. Other funding was needed.

Designs for a new wharf and dolphin-style mooring point had been discussed by LPC management over the past 18 months.

While LPC recognised cruising was important part of the Christchurch landscape, the existing charges on the cruise industry did not cover the cost of building a new cruise ship facility.

Christchurch mayor Bob Parker was unavailable for comment.

Read more: Passenger tax could fund cruise ship berth | Stuff.co.nz