Shore Trips and Tours

What Shore Trips and Tours does

Shore Trips and Tours is a New Zealand-based tour operator that aggregates and resells cruise ship shore excursions across nine New Zealand ports (Bay of Islands, Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Picton, Christchurch, Akaroa and Dunedin) and selected Australian destinations. Operated since 2007 by Mount Classic Tours Ltd from Mount Maunganui, the company books shared small-group standard tours (typically 4-15 persons), exclusive private tours (minivans, sedans, minibuses, coaches), group tours for 10-40+ persons, flight seeing experiences (helicopter and floatplane), pre-bookable attraction tickets, and self-drive rental cars.

The underlying platform is a web-based booking system built around a MyCruise registered-account feature that displays the customer's cruise itinerary and surfaces relevant tours per port of call. Supporting features include Express Booking (mobile-friendly instant reservations without registration), Tour Share (matching solo travelers and couples to share tour costs), and a Travel Groups tool for group organizers managing collective bookings and payments. Pricing is transaction-based per person or per vehicle, denominated in NZD with USD/GBP/EUR/AUD display options, ranging from NZ$18 child tickets to NZ$1,230+ flight seeing adult fares.

The business model is direct-to-consumer online booking supplemented by a travel agent referral channel. Revenue is generated entirely through transactional fees on tour, ticket, rental, and flight reservations sold through the platform. The primary customer is the cruise ship passenger with limited port time; secondary segments include group organizers and independent travelers seeking self-directed exploration. The company holds Qualmark Silver tourism quality certification and is ranked in Trip Advisor's top 10% of tour operators globally (Travellers Choice Award 2025). Operations were suspended for nearly three years during COVID-19 due to the cruise industry closure; two full post-COVID seasons have now been completed.

Name

Shore Trips and Tours

Legal name

Mount Classic Tours Ltd

Website

https://shoretripsandtours.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shore Trips and Tours is a New Zealand-based aggregator of cruise ship shore excursions, operating across nine NZ ports and Australia. Via its MyCruise platform, the company books standard, private, group, flight-seeing and rental car experiences for cruise passengers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cruise Ship Shore Excursions

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Shore Excursion Operators (Tours & Activities) (THAEAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Shore Excursion & Port Services Operators (THAKAEAE), Cruise Shore Excursion Operators & Port Services (Agency-led) (THAKAKAJ)

Keywords

• Cruise shore excursions
• Guided tour services
• Port excursion booking
• Small group tours
• Flight seeing experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Mount Maunganui

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Standard Tours: Shared tours priced per person including entry charges for visited locations. Group sizes typically 4-15 persons.
2. Private Tours: Exclusive vehicle and driver/guide bookings for private parties. Cost based on duration and vehicle type.
3. Group Tours: Exclusive tours for groups of 10-40+ persons, fully inclusive of entry fees. Pricing varies by group size.
4. Flight Seeing: Fixed wing and helicopter flight experiences ranging from short scenic flights to full day adventures
5. Experiences and Activity Tickets: Pre-bookable tickets for attractions and activities in cruise ports
6. Rental Cars: Self-drive rental cars available in various New Zealand ports

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Shore Trips and Tours is a cruise ship shore excursion operator that plans, books, and delivers guided tours across New Zealand and Australian ports for cruise ship passengers. Core offerings include shared Standard Tours (typically 4-15 persons), Private Tours, Group Tours, Flight Seeing experiences, pre-bookable attraction tickets, and Rental Cars, all scheduled around cruise ship arrival and departure times.

Product overview

Shore Trips and Tours is a cruise ship shore excursion booking platform operated by Mount Classic Tours Ltd. The platform offers a portfolio of tour and activity products across New Zealand and Australia, comprising: Standard Tours (shared small-group tours), Private Tours (exclusive vehicle and guide), Group Tours (for 10-40+ persons), Flight Seeing (helicopter and floatplane experiences), Experiences & Activities (pre-bookable attraction tickets), and Rental Cars (self-drive options). Supporting infrastructure includes MyCruise Account for itinerary management, Express Booking for quick reservations, Tour Share for connecting cruise passengers, and Travel Groups for group booking coordination. Popular destinations include Hobbiton/LOTR locations, Rotorua geothermal sites, Christchurch attractions, Wellington LOTR filming locations, and Waitomo Glowworm Caves.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Standard Tours Shared small-group tours for cruise ship passengers visiting New Zealand ports, typically including entry charges for visited locations. Group sizes typically 4-15 persons. Operated across Bay of Islands, Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Picton, Christchurch, Akaroa, and Dunedin.
• Private Tours Exclusive tours booked for individual parties with flexible itineraries, using minivans, luxury sedans, minibuses, or small coaches with driver/guide. Cost based on duration and vehicle type.
• Group Tours Exclusive tours for groups of 10-40+ persons with fully inclusive itineraries including all entry fees. Pricing varies by group size.
• Flight Seeing Fixed wing and helicopter flight seeing options ranging from short 5-minute experiences to full-day adventures, using certified passenger flight operators. Includes trips to White Island, Mt Tarawera, and crater lakes.
• Experiences & Activities Pre-bookable destination activity tickets for independent travelers, including geothermal attractions, cultural experiences, adventure activities, and wildlife encounters such as Wai-O-Tapu, Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Te Puia, and Antarctic Centre.
• Rental Cars Self-drive rental cars available in multiple New Zealand cruise ports for independent exploration of port regions.
• Foreign Language Guide Service Foreign language speaking tour guide service for non-English speaking visitors, providing customized language-guided tours at NZ $425.00 per adult.

Quantifiable outcome

• Full refund if ship misses port
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Waipuna HospiceminorOthersCharitable beneficiary of interest earned on client funds held in trust. Client booking payments are held in a separate clients account until tours occur, and the interest is donated to this local Tauranga organization.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Viator: Owned by TripAdvisor and the largest global tours and activities marketplace, including cruise shore excursions. Broad incumbent operating globally across thousands of destinations; Shore Trips competes for the same shore excursion customer wallet.
• GetYourGuide: Global tours and activities marketplace with strong presence in Oceania. Competes for cruise passenger shore excursion bookings via the same online discovery and reservation funnel.
• TourRadar: Global multi-day guided tour marketplace with significant Oceania inventory. While focused on multi-day tours, it overlaps with Shore Trips' group tour offerings and the same inbound cruise passenger customer base.

Direct peers

• Shore Excursions: A direct competitor offering cruise ship shore excursions across multiple global ports with similar small-group and private tour formats. Most directly comparable on product, customer (cruise passengers), and booking-platform model.
• Hobbiton Movie Set Tours: The official operator of Hobbiton Movie Set tours in Matamata — one of Shore Trips' flagship tour products. Direct competitor for the highest-demand NZ shore excursion and a content partner/competitor relationship.

Emerging players

• Klook: Asia-Pacific-focused tours and activities platform rapidly expanding in Oceania. Targets the same cruise passenger and inbound tourist segments with competitive pricing and a similar digital booking experience.

Regional players

• The Helicopter Line: New Zealand's largest scenic helicopter operator offering flightseeing experiences across multiple NZ regions including the same volcanic and glacier routes Shore Trips resells. Regional peer in the flightseeing add-on product line.
• RealNZ (Real Journeys): Major New Zealand tour operator offering cruises, scenic experiences and day tours including in Queenstown, Fiordland and Stewart Island. Regional NZ competitor with overlapping customer base and similar small-group tour offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shoretripsnz
• Facebookfacebook.com/ShoreTripsandTours
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shore-trips-and-tours

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shore Trips and Tours