Visitors vital to Christchurch CBD recovery

Christchurch must take urgent steps to continue attracting the 900,000 international visitors who pass through Canterbury each year, tourism industry representatives say.

Rebuilding central city hotels and the convention centre are critical to revitalising the visitor sector and supporting Christchurch's economic recovery, according to a joint submission by Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism and the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIANZ) to the Christchurch City Council's Draft Central City Plan.

These are pressing needs and must be given priority in plans to rebuild the CBD, the submission says.

Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism Chief Executive Tim Hunter says the speed at which the tourism sector recovers from the events of the past 12 months will be primarily driven by the speed at which accommodation facilities can be restored and a vibrant central city hub recreated.

Hunter explains "the longï¾term vision put forward by the Christchurch City Council is exciting and commendable but we need to take steps now to address the problems facing our visitor industry if we want to lessen the economic losses. It is critical that we expedite the re-instatement of hotels and hostels in the CBD because we're desperately short of commercial accommodation.

"We also think the council needs to concentrate on establishing what we call 'an area of normality' within the heart of the city as quickly as possible so that we have somewhere for visitors to Christchurch to go. That area could encompass the Restart retail area, the visitor zone, the Hagley Park events village, and hotels within the CBD that can quickly reopen.

"We want to see construction of a new convention centre given priority because that is the key to restoring business tourism in the city and a catalyst for hotel reinvestment.

The tourism industry is also calling for a powerful city icon to 'wow' visitors and attract them to Christchurch.

TIANZ Chief Executive Tim Cossar sees that a stand-out iconic structure could become a unique symbol for the rebuilt city, helping transform Christchurch into a must-see destination.

Cosser says that "we are open-minded on what form an icon could take, whether it is a building or some other type of structure. But we do believe there is a fantastic opportunity to create something that will give Christchurch international recognition."

Both TIANZ and Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism are keen to see development of an Earthquake Centre that will offer residents and visitors a place to remember and learn about the earthquakes.

Visitor Industry Value to Canterbury (based on Canterbury producing 15% of international visitor guest nights and 12% of domestic guest nights)

• $2.7 billion total tourism expenditure for the year ended December 2010;
• 22,600 jobs in Canterbury prior to February 2011 earthquake;
• 4.016 million guest nights in Canterbury in the year ending December 2010;
• 35% ($500 million) loss of international tourism receipts is the estimated loss to Canterbury in year to February 2012.

To read the submission, go to www.tianz.org.nz/main/local-government

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