The view of the cruise ship Crystal Symphony as seen from the shoreline in Oban.

Cruise ships are becoming a more common sight in the south, with two stopping over at Stewart Islandon Tuesday.

The Crystal Symphony and Europa 2 both dropped anchor outside of Oban, with one in Golden Bay and one in Halfmoon Bay.

About 1476 passengers from the two ships spent the day on the island, temporarily tripling its population.

Supplied Cruise ship passengers explore Stewart Island and surroundings.

Stewart Island Promotions Association promotions officer Jo Learmouth said the town was prepared for the influx of tourists.

"While there are obvious pressures - it's a great opportunity for the community to collaborate to share their piece of paradise."

A unique problem has been created by the passengers on the Europa 2, who are mainly German speakers.

As well as translators on the ships, local German speakers have been recruited to welcome the new arrivals to the island.

Venture Southland tourism and events manager Warrick Low said cruise ship numbers were up both in Southland and rest of the country.

More than 254,000 cruise ship passengers visited New Zealand in 2016, which was a 25 per cent increase on 2015.

Tourists from cruise ships brought around $8 million into the Southland economy in 2016, with $484 million being brought into the country as a whole.

Low said while the usual economic impacts of accommodation are not incurred, they certainly have a variety of shore experiences that add value to the local community.

This is achieved through local transport operations, tour operators, retailers, the hospitality sector and cruise supply sector.

Although Fiordland has traditionally been the favourite destination for cruises in the region, with 90 visits scheduled this year, destinations such as Stewart Island and even Bluff were beginning to emerge.

For the first time, Bluff is becoming a cruise ship destination, with four ships arriving at some point in 2016.

Low said Bluff was chosen because of its access to shore experiences, with one of the cruise operators organising busloads of tourists to travel to Invercargill and the Catlins.