Buzz hits in Picton

Business in Picton was ramping up as Boxing Day hit and the town prepared for the arrival of four cruise ships in a row.

The Celebrity Solstice cruise ship, carrying close to 3000 passengers, sailed into Picton Harbour mid-morning yesterday.

Before its arrival, staff at local cafes and souvenir shops could be seen bolstering themselves against tides of people descending on the popular summer destination.

Local business owners say it is fun, even when there is a line of customers out the door and they are getting a bit slammed. They do the best they can, and, hey, it’s good for business.

Seabreeze Cafe and Bar owner Jules Terry said they were prepared for the busy season, as locals and tourists took to the town. ‘‘Experience tells us this is the start of a pretty hectic few months.’’

Before Christmas, business at Seabreeze Cafe could be a ‘‘bit flaky’’ but Boxing Day was the day that really ‘‘kicked it off’’.

During this period, they could have queues up to the door all day, so they did the best they could under high pressure. ‘‘It has been building here every year,’’ Terry said.

Cruise ships would also berth daily in Picton until December 30.

Portal Jewellery and Design owner David Hosie said the busy period had already started for them.

Hosie was making sure the shop was in order yesterday morning, before the cruise ship docked and hordes of people started looking through the store.

‘‘We just do it, we just love it,’’ Hosie added. ‘‘People on holiday are happy people, they are fun to be around and you have got lots of stories.

‘‘Although you get tired, you just go with it. It is buzzy, it is nice and it is good for business.’’

The Picton Lions cruise ships market was set up, with locals and their homemade handicrafts awaiting the arrival of the latest ship.

Shirley Fyfe was selling her handmade glass and crystal jewellery at the market, and said business was cranking up every year. She thought it was unlikely she would be able to take a holiday this winter but would be ‘‘head down and making’’ in preparation for next year’s big cruise ship season.

Cruise ship passenger numbers to Picton were expected to crack the 100,000 mark for the first time this season. More than 55 ships were expected to visit during the 2019-20 season, which kicked off in October, bringing with them 104,000 passengers and 36,900 crew members.

Meanwhile, a temporary cell tower site will be in use in Picton over the holiday period, as service providers expect a jump in demand for mobile data.

Bargain-hunters in Blenheim spent Boxing Day cashing in gift vouchers and spending money gifted at Christmas, proving the sales still have an appeal.

Macpac central area manager Jared Worthington said Boxing Day was a big deal for retailers.

He said Boxing Day sales still brought people out as many waited until after Christmas to do their shopping.

‘‘And the idea of giving gift cards or even just money for Christmas is still a thing,’’ he said. ‘‘You do see a lot of that return back in.’’

Worthington said the Blenheim Macpac store had been performing well, in spite of retail being ‘‘relatively down at the moment’’ and he expected to see a lot of return from gift cards yesterday. However, with prechristmas sales more widespread than they used to be, there was still some uncertainty in how the day would pan out.

‘‘With everything going on at the moment it is really hard to tell,’’ he said. ‘‘Everyone is really pushing for sales over the last month. It is not just us, a lot of other retailers have been sort of been falling behind a bit

Crew shopper Lottie Whitehouse said she shopped the sales every Boxing Day – this year, she had some Christmas money to spend on new swimwear.

Bed Bath and Beyond assistant manager Jessica Simmons said their Christmas had been ‘‘steady’’ and they also had a lot of the last-minute shoppers looking for ‘‘stocking fillers’’.

The post-christmas sales were big at their store, especially with people coming in with gift vouchers and Christmas money.

‘‘Bedding and homeware can