Christchurch Airport Welcomes ‘Essential’ Convention Centre

Christchurch Airport Welcomes ‘Essential’ Convention Centre

Christchurch Airport, the South Island’s largest tourism business, has warmly welcomed announcement of the timeline and development of the city’s new Convention Centre.

Chief Executive Malcolm Johns says a convention centre is an essential piece of enabling infrastructure for a city.

“Christchurch needs world-class enabling infrastructure which lets our city, its businesses, institutions, communities and people engage nationally and internationally in business, science and sports.

“We've been missing out in these areas and as a city we're ambitious in all these areas” he says. "Today's announcement gives us a clear pathway to be able to participate in major conventions and business events.

“While those big events bring visitors and spending to the city, most importantly they enable us to connect nationally and internationally and that speaks directly to our ambition as a city.

“Big events also offer residents and visitors other benefits, such as excitement, entertainment, confidence and pride, as well as enhancing business opportunity and domestic and global connections.”

Mr Johns says Christchurch’s firm timeline on the convention centre is a key building block in the recovery of Christchurch's visitor economy and confidence in investing in new hotels, hospitality and retail.

“The visitor economy delivered more than one million p.a. short term residents to our CBD, all spending an average of six times more per day than permanent residents do,” he says.

“This supercharging of consumer spending gives us a bigger, more vibrant and exciting CBD than a city our size could normally expect.”

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