Today a new site for Ōtautahi Christchurch’s isite was confirmed as The Grand, which is the former post office building in Cathedral Square.

ChristchurchNZ worked with Christchurch City Council and Visitor Information Network (VIN is a subsidiary of Tourism New Zealand and oversees the isite franchise) to consider an appropriate geographic area for the central city isite to be located. This followed the lifting of the border closures due to Covid that had resulted in the closing of the previous isite. This work considered future city developments, transport options and visitor flows.

Visitors will be able to get information from the restored former post office in Cathedral Square, right in the heart of the city. The location is highly convenient for visitors, surrounded by central city hotels, located by public transport and coach drop off locations, a tram stop, and near Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, Tūranga Central Library, and in the future the reinstated Christ Church Cathedral. Plus, it’s in the central city wifi free zone.

Expressions of interest to open an isite were received from four parties and VIN considered submissions, together with support from the ChristchurchNZ urban development team. VIN recently made a site visit to inspect the options and have made a recommendation on the operator and location that best meets isite requirements. This recommendation has three key conditions:

This recommendation has three key conditions:

• Firstly, that the operator successfully concludes a co-operation agreement with ChristchurchNZ as the regional tourism organisation. This agreement was signed today.

• That they open no later than November 7, 2023, the first day of the cruise season.

• That they meet all of VIN Inc’s membership standards, particularly around staffing requirements, systems and signage.

The new isite will be run by experienced tourism operator Darin Rainbird (The Grand) who currently operates the Akaroa isite.

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