Strong Canterbury presence at TRENZ
Canterbury’s tourism operators will be out in force at TRENZ 2011, spreading the word that Christchurch and its region are ready to welcome visitors. While pockets of christchurch’s central business district remain off-limits because of the structural damage to buildings, in many parts of the city it is business as usual.
“It’s been important to us that we get back up on our feet as quickly as possible and while there is still a significant amount of rebuilding work to be done, we certainly feel we’re in a good position to welcome visitors back,” says Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism Chief Executive Tim Hunter. “We’ve got 26 of our visitor attractions and activities in Christchurch City operating and we currently have eight hotels, 10 lodges and apartments, 105 motels, 17 holiday parks, 15 backpacker lodges and 70 bed & breakfasts in full operation, providing a total of 7100 commercial beds so we’re certainly well placed to accommodate visitors.”
Outside of Christchurch City there are 11,700 commercial beds available in the Canterbury region unaffected by earthquake activity. Says Hunter: “The visitor experience in
Christchurch has changed because of the damage wrought by the quake on our cultural and heritage buildings, which were such a memorable part of our city, but we’re still a viable tourism destination for independent travellers and small groups wanting to experience the heart of the south and to use the city as a gateway to the rest of our exciting province.”
